Teenage Mutants
by Krissy Daniel
Summary: Here goes. This is the story of us. Four outcasts struggling to make ends meet, conquer our enemies, and hold onto some part of what we once were. It won't be easy and it won't be fun. But we'll get through it, together.
1. The New Boy

You Get Used To It  
  
Sorry I know this is the longest author's note in the history of the world but whatever. Chapters will start out short and start picking up length.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I have just modified them. I do however own the idea and the story so please be respectful to this. Thank you.  
  
Author's Note: THE TURTLES ARE HUMAN. More or less, there are just two gangs going after one another with twists here and there. I've just taken the bits of personality that I plan to focus .. Some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) characters are not used in my story. I will try to follow the personality as closely as possible... My major resource for character development is NinjaTurtles.com under profiles. Check it out for character personalities.  
  
Enjoy, Krissy  
  
*****************  
  
Just so you know who is who from the cartoon.  
  
Master Splinter- Mr. Splinter  
  
Leonardo- Leo  
  
Donatello- Don  
  
Raphael- Raph  
  
Michelangelo- Mikey (Mikey is a girl)  
  
All staying the same:  
  
April O'Neil  
  
Casey Jones  
  
The Shredder  
  
Rock Steady  
  
Krang  
  
Bebop  
  
Wingnut  
  
Screwloose  
  
Slash  
  
*****************  
  
'Who has karate in gym class?' grumbled Don on his first day at a new school. He had just left gym class where his new gym teacher, Mr. Splinter, practiced karate with his students and was now shuffling down the hallway to his locker. He opened his locker and pulled out a couple dollars to get a bottle of water out of the vending machines, he was dripping sweat and needed to cool off. As he strode down the hallway back to the cafeteria for lunch, he was unaware of the eyes on him.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Mikey, that's him, I know it," Leo declared astonished watching his peer pull a water bottle out of the vending machine and sit dawn at an empty table. Mikey did not move from her position with her head in her folded arms as she sipped through the straw of her juice box.  
  
"Mikey, go talk to him," Raph pulled away her apple juice.  
  
"Hey!" she lightly protested the theft. "Why don't you go?"  
  
"Mikey! You know you have to do this for us," Leo reasoned.  
  
"He doesn't know who I am," she retorted.  
  
"Just go! If you don't do this, you know what will happen to him," Raph piped up.  
  
Mikey mumbled under her breath as she pushed the chair out to talk to the stranger who she knew so much about, knowing deep down that in a way it was for his own good. His name was Donatello; he was 15; 6 feet tall; 160 pounds; dark brown eyes and hair. She knew that he was very prone to math and science and liked to invent things. She knew he was not a fighter, but liked to talk things out. She knew that he was very reserved and preoccupied with his own thoughts most of the time. He grew up in the city next to theirs but moved when his father had died over the summer. She and the other Turtles had been tracking him for a long time, knowing that one day they would need him and he would need them, too. The Foot Clan had an interest in him.  
  
Leo had made the importance of this conversation very clear to her in the past. She knew what she was supposed to do. The question was could she do this to him? That which was done to her.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Don lifted his dark brown eyes to meet the blue eyes of the girl slumped in the seat across from him. He looked her over she was clad in a pair of jeans and black sneakers, a black Ninja Turtles shirt. On her arms was a pair of tube socks with finger and thumbholes with two orange stripes at the top. She was sitting down, but he could tell she was short around 5'4" he assumed and very slim. Her light brown hair was up in a messy bun. He smiled to himself, as he looked her over.  
  
"Hi, my name is Mikey," her lips curved into a gracious smile.  
  
"Hi," he said timidly. She outstretched her hand then to shake his. He took it and shook it, but never let his eyes leave hers.  
  
"Well, what's your name?" she coaxed.  
  
"Don," he said simply.  
  
"Well, Don, come meet my friends," she stood up and lead him over to the table where the Turtles sat. When she stood, he realized she was shorter than he had first assumed. Her thin frame stood at 5 feet 2 inches tall and appeared to weigh no more than 110 pounds.  
  
She introduced Don to everyone at the table: Raph, Leo, Casey, and April. April hardly heard her own name and said hello back being that she was occupied with her latest article for the school newspaper. In contrast, all of the boys at the table easily fell into conversation about themselves getting to know each other until the bell rang for fifth period. Everyone said goodbye before going off to his or her next class.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Leo pulled Mikey aside before she could leave and sat her down in a chair. "Mikey, Thank you for talking to him, I know it was hard."  
  
She threw on her dazzling smile and replied, "Not a problem! Anything for you guys!"  
  
'Damn it!' he thought. He hated it when she put up those walls. He knew what she was feeling, and she was not happy. He could tell it killed her to drag someone into the Turtles. It wasn't a safe group to be involved with.  
  
"What are you doing tonight?" Leo asked.  
  
She smiled again, "Making dinner for all my boys!"  
  
"Okay, wait at your locker, I'll drive you home with me."  
  
She smiled brightly and nodded. They both went on their separate ways to go to class. Her- in her mock happiness. Him- in his worried state for her.  
  
Mikey did as told and waited at her locker after school for her ride with Leo. She was packing her book bag with her homework when Leo arrived with Don. She looked over her shoulder at them. "Where's everyone else?" she asked.  
  
"They're going to do some business," she sighed at this, "they'll be back in time for dinner. She muttered something that seemed to them as her saying that she was 'so glad' but they were not sure. She pulled her backpack out of her locker and let Leo drive them back to their house. 


	2. Devon

Devon  
  
Enjoy!  
  
"You all live here?" questioned Don emphasizing the 'all'. Mikey nodded and smiled.  
  
"Yep, me and my boys!" she replied surprisingly upbeat. She knew her situation must look appalling to him; they simply had no money to spare. They all lived in the one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and dining area and one small bathroom on the second floor of an old apartment building on the "bad side" of town. Each room was scantily furnished The dining room had an old, worn table with five miss-matched beat up chairs one with an outdated phonebook sitting on top of the seat. The kitchen had all outdated appliances. The bedroom had only a mattress on the ground with a sheet over it and one comforter to keep warm. They each had neat piles of their clothes in the corner of the bedroom and one pile of pillows and extra blankets with dirty clothes hamper in between. In the living room, they had only a few worn out cushions on the ground and a very old worn out couch. They could not afford a computer or television and even if they could, they would not be able to afford the extra money it would cost them on their electricity bill. Mikey began to walk to the kitchen to start dinner for everyone.  
  
"I'm making grilled cheese, do you want one?" she asked.  
  
He did not know to reply-- he did not know how much they had to spare, seeing the measly apartment. However, he complied. "Sure," he replied grateful for the offer. When she opened the door to the refrigerator, he could only gape at their lack of food. That was when he realized their poor state of living. No wonder she was so small. He would put money on the prospect that she had not always that thin. She must have felt a need to explain herself. He could tell she was embarrassed by their living environment.  
  
"When we all moved in together, a couple years ago, we didn't really have very much money. None of us can get jobs because Leo always wants someone with me so I can't get a job and he can't. Raph has to deal with most of the business and, of course, we could never ask April or Casey to make money for us," she hurriedly tried to explain their conditions.  
  
'She needed someone with her? Raph did the business? What was she talking about' his mind was quickly evaluating what she had just said, trying to take in all of the possibilities for the answers he wasn't given. "So, how do you get enough money for your rent and everything?" Don asked slowly.  
  
"When my family needs money, I get them money. I have to because I'm the reason they're in this situation," she replied. 'More unanswered questions' he thought.  
  
Slowly, head bowed, Mikey began to heat the skillet with butter. Next, she laid out a row of bread and cheese. She impishly looked up and excused herself before leaving the room quickly. He heard her leave the apartment and almost followed her, feeling that it had been his fault but when he reached the doorway, she came back in.  
  
Don smiled at the small boy clinging to Mikey's hand. "Did you have fun with Miss Anna, Dev?" Mikey asked the two-year-old. The boy grinned and nodded saying that they had gone to the park. "Okay, you can play here until dinner is ready," she laid out a blanket and some toy cars, "but first you have to say hello to Mr. Don."  
  
"Hi Mr. Don," he mumbled quickly mesmerized by his toy cars.  
  
"Hi there, Devon," Don replied enthusiastically.  
  
Mikey went back to her grilled cheese and began to cook the sandwiches in the now warm skillet. "He's cute," Don said to her, "who is he?"  
  
"Devon," she smiled as if he had asked the silliest question in the world.  
  
"No, I know that. Is he your brother or something?" Don elaborated.  
  
She shook her bowed head, "He's my son."  
  
'Devon is her son?' he reeled. He began to ask her more questions like how old she had been when she had him, for example. Devon's shriek of delight from the living room, though, interrupted his thoughts and questions.  
  
"Daddy! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" the young boy hollered while running into Leo's arms. Leo picked him up and carried into the kitchen where he greeted Don and Mikey.  
  
"Hi, guys. What're you making for dinner?" Leo asked.  
  
"Grilled Cheese," she replied, "but after we eat I got to get out of here, I have an. appointment."  
  
He nodded his understanding, "Do you mind if Raph takes you? He just got home, too." She shook her head 'no' and took the finished grilled cheeses out of the skillet and put one onto each of the five plates. Next, she pulled out a knife and cut each in half and one into fourths. Finally, she placed each of the grilled cheeses on the table with a glass of water and a napkin each except for the grilled cheese she had cut into fourths. With that sandwich, she put a small cup of milk with a straw.  
  
Mikey called Devon to the table, picked him up, and put him on top of the phone book on the chair in front of his grilled cheese and milk. "Thank you, Mommy," he said lightly before picking up a fourth of his grilled cheese. Everyone else sat down in front of a plate and began to eat. Silently, Leo put half of his sandwich onto Mikey's plate. She did not refuse; she only gave him a grateful smile.  
  
Mikey kept everyone entertained while she ate her grilled cheese by telling silly jokes and playing a game where she told two stories, one true and one fake so that everyone could try to guess which the bogus story was.  
  
"My first story is that I went to school once, and I was going around all day with boys hooting and hollering at me and I couldn't figure out why, until finally I realized I had gone around all day without a bra on without realizing it. My second story is that I came home once and Dev was wearing my lingerie and makeup and asked why he couldn't be a girl like me."  
  
Everyone laughed at her stories. Don and Raph guessed that the first was true and Leo guessed that the second was true. Mikey grinned triumphantly, "Two out of three isn't that bad, I don't even try to fool Leo anymore, he can see right through me like a piece of glass. Anyways, though, it's your turn, Leo."  
  
He replied quietly, "Shouldn't you be going?" He said it slowly, deliberately.  
  
"Right. Of course. Raph, shall we?" she turned to him.  
  
"Sure, lets go," he stood up.  
  
"Leo, will you get the dishes, please? And will you please watch Devon?" she requested.  
  
"Of course, you know I will. You know you do not have to go, don't you? Can't we find another way to make money? Please don't do this I can't see you upset again," he stoked her cheek with his thumb as he pleaded.  
  
"Of course, I know that. I also know that it never worked out before and I know this is my fault. Stop it please, just let me go." She smiled her sheepish reassurance. He nodded and kissed her forehead. He permitted her to breeze passed him and out of the apartment.  
  
Mikey inwardly cringed when she heard Raph invite Don to go along for the ride from outside the apartment.  
  
"Sure, if it's okay with her," he peeked out of the apartment, unsure of what to do.  
  
"Yes, that's fine," she permitted.  
  
The three of them drove in the dark and pulled up in front of a small building on a side street. Mikey got out of the car and when Don made a move to follow Raph kept him where he was. After Mikey had disappeared into the building Raph said, "We just wait here, she won't be that long. She's done it before, it's in and out."  
  
"Seriously, dude? Leo lets her prostitute herself? No matter how much you need the money, she shouldn't have to do that." Raph laughed outright.  
  
"Man, she's not having sex, she wouldn't do that. She is just. well. you know, taking pictures. Pictures like the kind boys look at. Why wouldn't Leo let her do that though-I mean, who is he to stop her any more than me?" Raph asked amused.  
  
"Well, they are dating and all," Don couldn't figure out why Raph thought he sounded so foolish.  
  
Raph chuckled again, "Dude, they aren't dating. Not anymore. They haven't been together in a long time."  
  
*~*~*~* "Okay, darlin', just open your legs up a little bit," said the cameraman.  
  
Mikey positioned herself sitting up with her legs spread open and propped up with her arms on her knees and the camera straight in front of her.  
  
"That's a good girl."  
  
*SNAP*  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
After sitting in silence for a brief period Raph began to chuckle with no warning.  
  
"What?" Don looked over at him.  
  
"Dude-I just realized-just between you and me, Devon isn't Leo's."  
  
Don paused, shocked. "There is so much about you guys that I need to figure out," Don sighed.  
  
"Don't worry, man, it'll all come together. Thing is, we need to know that you will stick with us; you'll have to be here for a while before we trust you with our secrets. That's just the way it is. Do you think you want to stick around long enough to do that? Think about this hard, we don't lead an easy life. If you say you'll stick around right now, there's no turning back-ever.  
  
"Yeah, I'll do it," he replied after a pause. Raph sighed- he was in although he didn't know if he should be pleased or feel sorry for what he did.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"That's right, girlie; stretch your arms up more over your head," cooed the photographer.  
  
Mikey positioned her arms out further above her head. She lay twisted up in a white silk sheet with the camera above her head aiming down. Her breasts and upper thighs were exposed.  
  
"That's a love, good girl."  
  
*SNAP*  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Wait!" Don exclaimed with astonishment.  
  
"Yeah," Raph looked over curiously.  
  
"How old is Mikey?" he asked.  
  
"She's fifteen, why?" Raph could not figure out what he was getting  
at.  
  
"Well isn't that child pornography?" Don wondered.  
  
"Yeah, the guy is private with his stuff though, he doesn't get caught. Usually he waits until the girl is almost seventeen but he says that Mikey is such a pretty face he couldn't turn her down. She's been doing this since right after Devon was born," Raph explained.  
  
"Oh, well how old is Devon?" Don looked at him expectantly.  
  
"He just turned two."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Mikey plopped into the passenger seat only a few minutes later and handed Raph fat envelope but exchanged no words. When the threesome were only about half a mile from their apartment Raph silently pulled into a gas station and pulled up to the door to let Mikey out. He handed her a twenty- dollar bill but said nothing.  
  
"Thanks," she said quietly.  
  
"What's she doing?" Don asked when she had entered the gas station.  
  
"She does this every time she goes to work. She can't sleep she gets nightmares, so we just stop and she buys some tranquilizers and usually an apple juice for herself strawberry milk for Devon. Some months she gets more than others months and she gets everyone a small treat. This was a good month."  
  
Mikey came back out, handed Raph chocolate milk, Don a Mellow Yellow, and then handed Raph her spare change. She sipped her apple juice for the rest of the way home.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Mikey walked straight to the kitchen, put the bag down on the counter, and then leaned against it. She saw someone stand in front of her, looked up with her troubled blue eyes to meet the concerned brown ones, and broke down into tears. Leo pulled her close to him and she sobbed into his chest while he murmured into her hair, "I'm sorry, baby. God, I am so sorry." Pain clearly etched into his voice. Pain for her-Pain for what he had done to her.  
  
'I wish I had never done this to you. I am so sorry. You do not deserve to live like this you are so much better. If I could take it all back, I would. I love you so much I always have and I would do anything to protect you from any pain. That means, I have to protect you from myself, because all I do is brig pain to the people that I love.' He stared to back away. He wished he could speak those words to her but then it would only bring back all of the pain. It was nothing that hadn't been said before. He could not promise her anything he could only promise broken promises. A life like his came with no promises no certainties nothing but hurt and pain.  
  
"Daddy, why is mommy sad?" Devon looked up at Leo expectantly. He picked up the little boy silently and carried him out of the room. "Can't I give her a kiss? I know whenever I'm sad; if she gives me a kiss it feels better." Leo considered it and let the boy go back to Mikey.  
  
"Hey, baby." She picked him up.  
  
"I love you, Mommy," he gave her a kiss and smiled boyishly. "Is that better?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, all better," she gave the boy another kiss on the cheek. "Guess what Mommy got you?" she turned around, got the strawberry milk out of the bag, and put a straw into it. "I know it helps you sleep better. He took it out of her hand sand drank out of the straw. He fell asleep with his head on her shoulder before she even made it into the bedroom.  
  
"Leo," she whispered, "Put him in the bedroom, please?" she asked and he took the boy from her arms. She took the milk back to the kitchen and put it into the fridge for later. Mikey took out a tranquilizer, popped it into her mouth, and swallowed it with the aid of her apple juice.  
  
"Hey, Leo, I got you something," she walked out into the living room to find that Raph was driving Don home for the night. Mikey handed him a Baby Ruth chocolate bar and a cherry coke. She fled to the bedroom where she fell instantly into dreams on the mattress on the floor with her son curled up beside her. Leo stole into their bedroom in the night to look down at the woman he loved and the little boy who should have been his. She looked like an angle and he looked so innocent in his dreams. If only he was in a position in his life where he could act on his love. Nevertheless, with love only came heartache in his life.  
  
~!~!~!~  
  
Sorry, people, I know I skip around a lot. I really can't help it. I'm trying to make it flow more. I'm getting a lot better than I used to be, trust me on that one. The next chapter should be up soon, I hope. I hope everyone liked it, though. I'm pleased with the chapter I'm hoping for a fun third chapter; I'm needing a break from this dark stuff. Then I think the next chapter will be dark again. I don't know, we'll see.  
  
Thank you so much to:  
  
Walking Contradiction: You have inspired me to keep on with this fic. Thank you so much! I love you with all y heart!  
  
Kelly: You are just a darling. I love you. Thanks for the idea to post on here  
  
Love, Krissy. 


	3. He Should Have Been Mine

He Should Have Been Mine Chapter 3 of You Get Used To It  
  
*-* = flashback -*- = end flashback  
  
Many glimpses into the past.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Mikey shot up in bed at the sound of a little boy's shrill screams in the middle of the night. It had been four nights since they had met Don and, since it was Friday, his mother permitted him to stay the night with them. Trembling, Mikey gently scooped Devon into her arms and rocked him cooed, "What is it baby? What's wrong?"  
  
"Monsters, mommy, there are monsters everywhere!" he shuddered. She let out a sigh of relief. Just monsters, she told herself, nothing more. Mikey continued to rock him gently and to talk to him softly to no avail. Leo entered the room and looked down at the sobbing boy.  
  
"What is it, Mikey? Why is he so upset?" he tenderly took the boy in his arms.  
  
"I don't know, he said he saw monsters," she shrugged.  
  
Leo sat down with his son in his arms and began soothingly singing to him with his soft melodious voice.  
  
"Come stop you're crying it will be alright,  
  
Just take my hand, hold it tight,  
  
I will protect from all around you,  
  
I will be here don't you cry,  
  
For one so small, you seem so strong,  
  
My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm,  
  
This bond between us can't be broken,  
  
I will be here don't you cry."  
  
As Leo slowly sang to his little boy, he drifted back to sleep in his daddy's arms. "He's out," Leo whispered to Mikey. She nodded and yawned. "Can I take him out with me to sleep tonight?" Leo loved the little boy as much as any father could ever love his son. Devon *was* Leo's son in every way that a man could have a son. I am more a damn father to him than his biological father ever wanted to be, Leo got angry just thinking about it. It made him feel sorry for Mikey, poor girl. He loved her so much and she did not deserve to be abandoned and impregnated by some fool the way she had been.  
  
"Yes-wait. Can you just sleep in here with him tonight? Please, something feels wrong and I just don't want to be alone." Leo lowered himself onto the bed next to Mikey.  
  
"Sure, good night," he whispered into her ear and kissed the tip of her nose.  
  
"Sweet dreams," she murmured wishing with her whole body that she could one day be with him again. She wanted so badly to forgive him. Nevertheless, he left her alone. He left her when she needed him the most.  
  
Leo fought back his urge to kiss her on the mouth. No, he told himself, let her be do not hurt her again. With Devon curled up on top of him, Leo let his mind race back to the past.  
  
*-* Leo was on his way to a dark alley to take care of some "business" he had with some of Shredder's boys. A thirteen-year-old Leo was already well versed in the art of fighting. He had started the rebellion against the Foot Clan when he was only eleven. Raph, who was only twelve, was with him as well.  
  
The boys, together, slid around the corner to their meeting place and Leo let out a gasp of shock. "Shit," he muttered.  
  
"Who is that?" Raph leaned over and asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah, this your bitch, huh?" Rock steady-so they called him-let out a sinister laugh.  
  
"Oh, oh shit!" Raph recognized the young girl in the grips of his enemy.  
  
"Look man, leave her alone. She's not involved in this," as Leo spoke; he could see the little girl fighting to keep her composure. Suddenly Rock Steady lifted his hand to her breast and gave it a squeeze and she yelped. Leo clenched his jaw in anger at this and took a step forward. "I mean it, you're asking for me to shove my steel toed boot up your ass."  
  
"C'mon, man, don't you understand what it's like? I'm just lonely. Anyways, I think she might be fun. Give me one go around and I promise to have her back in the morning," her eyes widened in fright and she tried to wiggle free. Leo tried to go after the guy but Raph held him back. "She must be pretty good if you don't want me to have some," he was trying to push Leo to his limit, trying to make him mad. Raph realized his plan and knew that no one fights well through rage. "Well let me test her out," the man began to suck on the neck of his captive as she squirmed uncomfortably. The whole time, he kept amused eyes on Leo, seeing his anger rise with each second. Unconsciously, Leo's fists clenched.  
  
"Damn it, dude, stop that now!" Leo lunged at them and Rock Steady jerked away.  
  
"Hey, man, I was just having some fun. But I see that you're the jealous type, I understand," he taunted. Leo lunged in again. This time, Rock steady pushed his prisoner away, onto the ground, and lunged back at Leo, punching him in his left cheek. Bebop, another of Shredder's men, picked the girl up off the ground and punched her in the face several times before Raph could jump in. Raph easily freed the girl from Bebop's grasp and began to return the punches. Hastily, the little girl ran and sat in the shadows watching the fighting continue although Leo and Raph quickly took control of the situation. She shuddered at each punch that landed weeping silently.  
  
He is going to kill them, thought Raph when he looked over at Leo. Raph ran over and pulled Leo off his enemy. "Now get out of here or I just might let him kill you for what you did!" Raph said calmly. As Bebop and Rock Steady hurriedly started to retreat, Leo screamed his anger at them, "Fuckers! I'll remember this!" Then he turned to Raph, "Why the fuck did you stop me? Didn't you see what they did to Mikey?"  
  
"Yeah, dude, I saw it. But killing that guy isn't going to solve it and we've already scared the existing shit out of her!" Leo looked around to find his girlfriend and spotted her sitting in the shadows.  
  
Leo walked to her, sat down, and gently pulled the trembling eleven-year- old into his lap. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, "I'm sorry."  
  
Leo, taken aback, questioned, "Sorry for what?"  
  
"I'm sorry I followed you. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have that black eye," she touched his face gently.  
  
"Shh, that's not your fault," he picked her up in his arms.  
  
Back at his house, he gently cleaned the dried blood tenderly off Mikey's face. Gently kissing her countenance as he cleaned, murmuring his apologies. Tears slid silently down her face.  
  
"Hey now, stop crying," he wiped her cheeks. "Will you tell me now why were you following me?" Kneeling in front of her, he looked into her eyes.  
  
She pulled her knees to her chest, "I wondered where you always went that you wouldn't tell me about. I thought that maybe you went to see a girl. Anyways, it made me decide that I would follow you. I was almost there when those guys grabbed me and they pulled me with them. I'm so sorry."  
  
He kissed the tip of her nose, "You shouldn't have followed me. Please trust me. There is not anyone else I am interested in but you. Please, though, don't be sorry, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry they hurt you." She nodded, silently accepting his apology. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" She lifted up her torn; bloody pants as high as she could, to expose the bottom of a deep slash on her right knee.  
  
"I think I fell on some glass," she explained. Leo walked away and came back with more disinfectant. Mikey gasped at the sting as he cleaned out her cut. He stopped, suddenly, and looked up at her as if to say 'I'm sorry.' "What?" she sniffled.  
  
"I can't get to the rest of the cut," he blushed slightly as she slid out of her pants and he cleaned the rest of the slice on her knee.  
  
With all of her wounds cleaned and her delicate face beginning to bruise, Leo laid Mikey down in his bed to sleep for the night. As he watched her dream, his eyes fell to the hickie (sp?) on her neck. He silently cursed Rock Steady and all of the Foot Clan and swore his revenge. He knew that he would always have to protect her; he could not see her hurt again. That night, he told himself he would never let her go.  
  
"You know, she's part of us now, right? She's a turtle and she can't get out." Raph said leaning in the doorway.  
  
Leo stood up; fire in his eyes and shut the door as he walked out of the room. "Shut the fuck up, fuck you man!"  
  
"It's only the truth," he said defensively, "They want her now and they won't stop."  
  
"NO! No, you're wrong." Leo fumed and stormed out of the room. Raph sighed to himself, Leo had to learn fast. For Mikey's sake.-*-  
  
If only I had listened to him. If only I would have understood, I could have trained her. I could have taught her to fight for herself. Maybe then, we wouldn't all be in the situation we are now. Maybe then, she wouldn't be so sad. Maybe then, she would still be mine. Leo thought wistfully about that night. That night changed all of their lives forever.  
  
Leo's train of thought was broken when his son began to squirm on top of him. It was only then that he realized that the sun had long ago risen. "Shh," he whispered, "Let mommy sleep." Leo carried the boy out of the room. Upon leaving the bedroom, Leo found Raph and Don sitting at the kitchen table, talking to each other. Leo put Devon down on top of the phone book at the kitchen table and gave him a bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal with banana cut up in it.  
  
Raph smirked at Leo. "So, I see you got some play," he joked.  
  
Leo shot him a glare, "Devon was in there with us. You're depraved- immoral." Leo grunted his disgust at the thought.  
  
Raph chuckled, "Well I know that if I had been in there with Mikey all night, I wouldn't have slept a wink if you smell my drift." Raph winked at him to top it off but before Leo could glare at him, he turned to Devon, "What was bothering you last night little man?" he asked.  
  
"Monsters," the little boy trembled.  
  
"Aw, kiddo, there's no monsters they're afraid of your daddy." The little boy looked admiringly at Leo. Raph chuckled, "At least he let Mikey know he was still breathing, huh Leo?"  
  
Leo snorted, "Oh he was breathing alright."  
  
Mikey suddenly bolted out of the bedroom. "Whoa there, what's up?" Don laughed at her haste.  
  
"I thought someone kidnapped my son, thanks for teasing me." She kissed the top of her son's head, "Morning, big guy, oatmeal? I think your daddy has a soft spot for you, he spoils you rotten." Everyone in the room chuckled.  
  
"I don't think you've ever said anything more true," Raph conceded.  
  
"Shut up, wait till you have kids," Leo replied ominously. Raph shook his head.  
  
"No kids for me, thanks. I'm happy living the swinging single life." In all reality, Raph did not lead the swinging single life. He was completely devoted to the downfall of the Foot Clan. So much, in fact, that he had no time for much relationship with anybody. Raph had his friends Leo, Mikey, and now Don and that was enough for him. He felt no need for more friends than that. 'Why have too many friends? You can only trust so many people anyways' he emphasized. Leo knew Raph had little capacity for any emotion. He hardly ever expressed much of any sentiment. Leo knew that one day, though; he would find one girl that made his emotions run wild. In most ways, Leo was the same way. They both just expected people to know how they felt about them. There was no need to speak what people already know. It was a waste of breath. The only difference, Leo had already met that special girl and she already set his emotions on fire.  
  
"Whatever, Romeo I-"Mikey was interrupted when the phone rang. She pulled the receiver off the wall and put it to her ear, "Hello?"  
  
"How about you let me talk to your boyfriend, bitch," said the vicious voice on the other end. She closed her eyes and the memory of that horrifying voice whispering in her ear. *-*"That's right, scream for me nice and loud, little girl."-*- Her eyes snapped open.  
  
"You know, I have little patience for your games. What do you want?" she replied as coldly as she could manage. Through her callous façade, she could feel herself trembling in terror.  
  
"Put him on the phone before I fuck you up worse than I did the last time," he hissed.  
  
Leo saw Mikey's eyes grow wide in fear, "What the hell? Give me the phone." He took the phone from Mikey's hand. "Who is this and what the hell are you calling for?" Leo demanded harshly. Mikey picked Devon up and put him in her lap to finish eating.  
  
Raph and Don questioned who was on the phone but she only stared blankly so they turned their attention back to Leo on the phone listening to his end of the conversation. *-*Mikey came conscious again and let out a low moan of pain as her attacker moved in and out of her with growing ferocity before she slipped back into oblivion again.-*- she shook her mind free of the horrific memories that haunted her.  
  
"Chill out man, I just want to see my son. I'm sure you understand," the voice said smoothly. He relished at the fact that he knew exactly how to get at his enemy where it really tore at him. "I'd sure like to be between those thighs again sometime, hear her moan my name some more." With every malicious word spoken, Leo's anger rose.  
  
"You jackass, do not *ever* call my house again. Do you understand?" He hung up the phone.  
  
"What the hell, man, what's going on?" Raph jumped up.  
  
Leo pointed a finger at Mikey and Devon, "Do not let either of them out of your sight, do you understand me?" Leo was in the midst of walking away when Raph spun him around.  
  
"What the fuck just happened?" Raph demanded.  
  
Leo eyed Don quickly and turned his attention back to Raph. "It was Devon's dad. He demanded to see his son," he clenched his jaw. "I swear, I could rip his fucking balls off!"  
  
"What the hell do you think you're going to do? Do you think you are going to go take him out? It is not going to happen now so stop being a fool!" Raph screamed.  
  
Leo's body shook behind the delicate dam holding back his rage. Slowly, Leo got control of his emotions again, letting his breath even out. "Of course man, you're right," he said at last. Mikey put Devon back onto the phone book and walked to Leo.  
  
"I'm sorry. About everything, I'm just sorry," she whispered.  
  
He stroked her cheek tenderly, "He should have been mine." Deep pain was in Leo's voice and he had to break away from the gaze of the girl in front of him. Painstakingly, he turned and walked away and out the door with his car keys in his hand.  
  
A/N: Ah! I like this chapter! (Actually, I've liked all three chapters so far. I'm not sure which one I liked best though. Either two or three.. One wasn't all that thrilling.) I have to apologize, for some reason all I write is dark stuff. I am really going to pull away from that somehow. hopefully. eventually. Next chapter up soon. We will see how that goes because I never really know what I'm going to do next. I just have the end and the theme in mind and I let it all flow.  
  
Walking Contradiction: I love you so much! Okay well.. Thank you so much for all of your praise. You yourself have kept me going with this.  
  
Kelly: Heart You!  
  
Love, Krissy 


	4. I Love You

Chapter 4 of You Get Used To It I love you. (Whoa, readers, isn't that intriguing)  
  
Be ready, all, very dark but soon this author is leaving her writing comfort zone. (Like going on vaca!) Woo! And a slight preview to where this story is going. I will be returning to my comfort zone, eventually. Soon enough.  
  
Some questions are answered in this chapter (although I was a bit hesitant to answer questions so early in the story. *Sighs* whatever.) However, some will be put off until the next chapter. Sorry, all, it didn't work out this time.  
  
On with it! Enjoy!  
  
"Listen, Mikey, we're going to go look for him. Don't worry we'll be back soon. Keep the doors locked and don't let anyone in." Raph instructed as he walked out the door with Don by his side to find Leo who had been absent for almost 10 hours as it was rapidly becoming dark. Mikey sighed and looked out the kitchen window as the rain fell in sheets upon the outside wall of their unfortunate apartment. Mikey walked into the bedroom to check on Devon.  
  
"Hey, big guy, you doing okay?" she only half listened for a response. 'Where could he be? What is he doing?'  
  
"Yes, Mommy," he replied and put the crayon back to his coloring book.  
  
"Alright," she shut the door and walked to the living room where she plopped, and sunk, onto the couch. *-* "Jacks," Mikey whispered to her little sister in the dark of their bedroom.  
  
"What do you want?" Jacqueline questioned through her sleepiness.  
  
"I'm going out to meet Leo. Cover for me if the 'rents come in to check or anything," she stood just inside their bedroom window.  
  
"Yeah, whatever, I'll tell them the dog ate you," she rolled over and fell back asleep.-*-  
  
Mikey walked into the kitchen and put water on the stove to boil. She missed her little sister more than she did anything else about her old life. Jacks was the sweetest girl she knew and extremely easy to talk to. Instinctively, Jacks was wise beyond her years in the aspect of people's emotions and actions. Her wise nature had kept both of them up almost every night talking about each other's problems and working through them together. When Mikey moved out and her little sister was no longer part of her life, she had a lot of trouble working out her problems until she learned to work through them on her own. Mikey checked the water and when she saw that it was bubbling she poured the liquid into a mug on the counter. Then, she reached into her secret stash under the sink, poured hot chocolate mix into the water, and stirred it up.  
  
She sat back down on the couch and pulled her knees to her chest. Her mind began to wonder again as she slowly sipped her hot chocolate. *-*"Hey, how did you get over here?" Leo questioned Mikey as she climbed into his window.  
  
"Jacks is covering for me," she walked over, gave him a quick kiss, and looked at his digital clock, which read 2:54.  
  
"Alright, well, I don't want you running around in the dark anymore. When you go home, I'll walk with you," he informed her. "I got word from some sources today that the Foot Clan has an eye out for you," he looked her in the face. He could tell she was not scared of what would happen. She was untouchable in her own mind. "Damn it, you have to understand what would happen? They would-"she put a finger to his lips and gave him a swift kiss as if to quiet him.  
  
"Who could hurt someone like me?" she smiled innocently and looked into his eyes. He rubbed her upper arms under the sleeves of her t-shirt.  
  
"Mikey, that's the thing! People who want to get to me, that's who *will* hurt you if you aren't careful!" he had to make her understand, had to make her see that she could be seriously hurt.  
  
"Leo, you get hurt all the time! Why am I the one in danger here? Worry about yourself!" She crossed her arms and huffed in his direction.  
  
His hands slid of her arms, "Mikey I can fight-"  
  
"Please, let's not talk about this right now." Mikey slid her body onto his lap and felt his strong arms wrap around her. She gave him a slow kiss on the mouth, dragging it out. Reluctantly, she pulled away. She promised herself that she would *not* move to fast. Not until she was ready. She was still so young at thirteen with so much time left in her life to be intimate.-*-  
  
Mikey was pulled from her recollections as she felt two strong arms wrap around her this time for real and not only in her memory. She began to turn her body in response when he whispered in her ear, "I've been thinking about you all day and I'm sorry." It was Leo's voice, she knew. She nodded. "I know I've done a lot over the years and you had every right to reject me the way you did but I want to give this another try. I can't stand to be without you. I love you so much." Her entire body froze and he felt her go rigid in her arms. He interpreted this action as a denial of his feelings and began to loosen his grip. He couldn't push her beyond her limit.  
  
"I love you, too," she whispered back testing the words again. It had been so long since she had said that to him and the last time ended in heartbreak. His heart stopped beating and then began to race again. She hadn't denied his feelings. He moved around her and sat on the couch facing her.  
  
"I'm sorry it took me two years to say it again and to realize what a fool I have been, but I do love you and I'm not afraid of it anymore," he slowly leaned in to her. She didn't stop him but leaned in, as well. Both of them froze millimeters from each other testing the moment. Could it work this time?  
  
'Mikey? Do you forgive him?' She asked herself in her mind. *-* "What the fuck is this?" Raph looked at the small bundle on the sidewalk. "Oh my god, Mikey, are you alive?" he stooped down and rolled her onto her back. She let out a low moan of pain. "Oh god, she's alive! I'm sorry; I'm going to get help. Everything is going to be okay," again, she moaned.  
  
Raph quickly ran into the house to retrieve Leo. He shook him from his sleep, "Dude! She's outside on the ground! She's alive but barely! Now come on!" Leo threw on a pair of jeans and quickly bolted outside to be by Mikey's side. Both Leo and Raph had been searching for her since her kidnapping. Being so exhausted from the failed searches both had gone to take a quick nap and start searching again fresh at nightfall. As soon as Leo saw her, he knew it was bad and he could *not* take her home to his or her houses. He quickly took her to where she wouldn't be seen.  
  
Mikey lay on the ground in an old abandoned apartment building rust and mildew showed on the walls. The entire place smelled old and stale even musty. Leo stood above her gently caressing her cheek, "Who did this to you?" he demanded. Mikey quickly choked out the name of her assailant and Leo was instantly furious. As he looked down at his girlfriend, he took in the cuts and deep bruises on her body and the many broken bones. *He* had taken her, raped her, beaten her badly, and dumped her in front of Leo's home to be found whenever. Leo wanted nothing more than revenge. No one hurt her. Not this badly. "Can you move?" She tried to pick up her body from any position possible with the same result each time: a small whimper followed by her body falling limp again. He could tell she was about to fall unconscious again and he tried his best to keep her alert. "Look, Mikey, I promise you that I'm going to get him. I'm going to track him down and I'm going to," he paused. What was he going to do? 'Kill him!' screamed his mind. "I'm going to make sure that he pays for this," he concluded, "even if it takes me months."  
  
"No," she pleaded. "I need you right now, please don't go. If you leave me, I *will* leave, too. Don't doubt me, I will go in the other direction and I won't turn back." He weighed the possibilities and in the end his rage took control of all else and he left the building leaving Mikey sobbing and battered lying on the floor.  
  
Leo, true to his word, did seek revenge-even if it took months. However, that revenge never came though he *was* gone for months. When he did come back into her life, though, things had changed drastically.-*-'Yes' she concluded, she really did forgive him after so long. She loved him with every part of her. She didn't doubt him or his feelings, and he wouldn't lie to her. If he said he loved her, he really did love her. She trusted him with everything she had and she trusted this moment. She lifted her hand to wipe away the rainwater dripping from his face. Her hand was warm to the touch and made his skin tingle.  
  
'This is it! Don't mess this up.' He told himself. 'You only get one more chance and you love this girl. You promised you would never let her go' he knew he wouldn't, either. He would *not* let her go, not this time, not now that he knew what he had and what he had let go of last time.*-*Leo tracked Mikey down after not seeing her for so long. His face brightened when he saw her, "Hi, baby." She looked at him contemptuously and he took a step back. "Mikey, are you still mad?" She turned away from him. "Mikey, I thought you would be glad to see me," nothing was working. He tried something else, "I left you once, I won't do it again."  
  
She turned around furiously, "You left me once? You are damn right you left me! You left me on the ground! On the ground in a dirty old apartment bleeding and in so much pain, I didn't know what to do. I can't believe you don't think that was a big deal! Leo, I'm thirteen! I'm still a little girl and you left me alone when I needed you most, when I was so lost!" She stood up to leave him and for the first time he noticed her slightly protruding belly. He gaped. She was pregnant. He couldn't leave her alone again with a baby.  
  
"Mikey, I can't let walk away knowing that you are going to have a baby. You can't take care of that baby alone. I know its father won't want anything to do with it. We don't have to be together, but let me help you raise the baby. I can't let you be alone with a child." She looked at him with disdain and walked slowly away. 'No, but you had no problem leaving me alone without a baby' she mumbled to herself.-*- 'That,' he thought, 'is never going to happen again.' He rested his hands on her waist and began ever so slowly to lean the rest of the way to her enticing lips.  
  
"Mommy, I'm so pretty!" Devon's voice made them both abruptly pull away from each other and look at the little boy. Mikey let out a long laugh and Leo followed suit. Soon they were both laughing together slowly easing the tension that had filled the room seconds earlier.  
  
"Mommy, I'm so pretty!" Devon repeated louder, feeling that they had misunderstood him somehow and becoming impatient with their laughter.  
  
"Yes honey, you sure are," she chuckled. Devon stood in front of them with stickers randomly stuck throughout his hair. He brought a hand to his dark brown locks and gently moved them about as if he was primping with his long eyelashes batting alluringly around his dark eyes.  
  
"Oh, woman, if he turns out gay, I am so blaming you," Leo looked at Mikey. She raised her hands in defense.  
  
"No way! Not my fault, if he is gay, he was born that way. You're the one who gave him his Y chromosome, *you* tell *me* right now if it was defective so that I can be prepared," she retorted and then froze as the realization of what she had just said sunk in.  
  
She mentally berated herself as she pulled the stickers from her son's hair as gently as she could as he whimpered. "Dev, *why* did you put these in your hair?" Mikey looked at her son demanding an answer.  
  
"Mommy, I'm so pretty." he repeated his earlier statement with less enthusiasm almost as if it were an apology.  
  
"He *must* have gotten this from you. I don't consider stickers fashionable," Leo winked at her letting her know that he wasn't mad. It was good that she considered him Devon's dad so deeply that she would make a quick thinking mistake like that. He had been thinking long and hard all day about his relationship with her and with his son and he realized he had no reason to feel threatened. Devon was his son and there was no hesitation in that. Nevertheless, he really had never slept with Mikey so there was no mistake about where Devon's genes had come from. He almost wished there could possibly be some mistake.  
  
Mikey gently put Devon down to sleep and walked back into the room with Leo. She sat down next to him on the couch. The moment was over and neither wanted to have their first kiss, at least since they broke up, when it wasn't going to be special. *-*Mikey sat up out of Leo's grasp after she had been sitting with him for almost an hour. "I have to get home. If it really does come down to Jacks using the excuse that she planned, I'm a goner." He chuckled.  
  
"What excuse is that?" he looked amused.  
  
She let out a laugh, "That the dog ate me."  
  
"Alright," he stood and took her hand, "I'll walk you home."  
  
"Leo, you can't. I promise I will walk right home and I'll be okay. If my parents or even your parents for that matter see us outside we'll both be corpses by daylight." He made a face as if he were going to push it further but she stopped him, "I'll be fine, good bye," she slid out his window and onto the ground. He stood looking down at her and she waved and walked into the darkness.  
  
Walking through the darkness on the way home a figure grabbed Mikey from behind and covered her mouth. "If you answer my questions, I won't hurt you," he dragged her into a car and drove away unnoticed in the darkness. Back at wherever it was he had taken her (She wasn't sure, she had been blindfolded) he held her wrist between his hands threateningly, "Where are Leo and Raph?"  
  
She knew what was coming, "Who are you talking about?" He easily snapped the bones of her wrist.-*- That was how most of the experience had gone; her kidnapper asking her questions about the Turtles and her playing dumb to her own detriment. She had never told that to anyone. The whole experience *may* have been prevented if she had given him answers. Probably not, though, she though. She couldn't turn Raph and Leo in on the possibility of her salvation. It wasn't right. She shuddered at the painful memories. Even though she *was* fine now, even though she *was* "over it," even though she had accepted it and lived with it, the memories would always haunt her. Mikey looked up at Leo, "Want to play Speed?" she asked him needing to get her mind away from the memories that flooded her life.  
  
"Sure, why not?" Leo walked to the table and Mikey got out a deck of playing cards. "You ready to lose?" he asked as he shuffled and dealt the cards.  
  
She snorted her response and picked up her cards in all seriousness. Ten minutes later, "SPEED!" she called out as she laid down her last cards a six on a five. She was in the middle of a celebration dance when the door to their apartment opened and in walked Raph and Don, suitcases in tow.  
  
Leo looked around at the realization, "What the fuck, you left her here *alone* after that phone call earlier and after what I told you? What were you thinking?" Raph let out a snort in his direction.  
  
"Well, if you hadn't been gone for so fucking long, I wouldn't have had to go looking for you!" Raph roared back, furious by the accusation.  
  
"Whoa! Stop this, guys! I'm fine and I don't think that's the biggest issue right now," she looked at Raph and Don, "What's with the suit cases?"  
  
"My mom died, so Raph said that you guys would put me up here," Don looked around apprehensively.  
  
Leo was taken aback. Him? Here? Not possible! He was, most definitely, not ready to be a Turtle and that's precisely what this move would mean. If he moved in with them, he was officially part of the Turtles. Could he be trusted? His mind buzzed.  
  
"I'm really sorry. That sucks. How did she die?" Mikey looked at him concerned.  
  
"She's been pretty depressed since my dad died over the summer in a motorcycle accident. She started taking these antidepressants to help with everything. I found her in her room with an empty prescription bottle and a bottle of empty vodka. I called an ambulance but she was already dead," he shrugged under the attention.  
  
"Why don't you go take a shower so we can talk? You will feel better," Mikey suggested. He complied. Don pulled some pajamas out of his suitcase and carried them into the bathroom with him.  
  
"What are we going to do about Don? If he moves in," she looked at Raph and Leo, "he will become a Turtle."  
  
The boys sat and thought about that for a second. Everyone with the same thought: could he possibly be trusted so soon?  
  
A/N: You people are lucky I love you all because it was hard to get through this chapter with out vomiting. I hate being so blunt. And I hate progressing so quickly! Aah! Must drag it out, must drag it out!  
  
I *really* didn't like this chapter at first. I changed it all and I like it now, though it's pretty choppy. Sorry, people. Everyone should read the works of Walking Contradiction because for one she is an AMAZING writer and for two you wouldn't be reading this right now if it hadn't been for her. So go support her by reading and reviewing her stuff. (Don't forget the reviews you jerk, even if you forget to review me)  
  
Chapter 5: (Yay! I actually know what I'm doing before hand!)  
  
Don gets a tattoo (hmm)  
  
Preview: "Look, you guys, I will do anything. Just please don't make me live on the streets. Raph already told me you guys have to trust me; I'll keep your secrets. Who am I going to tell?" he pleaded with the group.  
  
"Don, this is more than just our secrets. We need to trust you with our *lives* we need to know you will fight to the end for any one of us. That you will die keeping our secrets. We need to know that you can handle the pressure and the stress of this lifestyle. There is so much to it and most of it is gruesome. I take that back it is *all* gruesome."  
  
Heh, don't get used to previews.  
  
Reader Interaction: I need a little reader interaction: Please email me ANY questions that you people have about the story. About the characters past or personal life. About the turtles. About the Foot Clan. Whatever you want to be answered and I will do my best *winks.* My email address is in my profile.  
  
Reader Interaction: *-*-*-*-*-*Also, please tell me in a review who your favorite character is and why and what your favorite part has been so far and why. Thanks people! My readers are the best! -*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
**Kelly:** Yes a major change from bright and sunny me, indeed. Maybe I get all the dark stuff out of my mind in my writing so I can be happy the rest of the time. For some reason I have a passion for writing dark stuff. *shrugs* blame it on, well, lol the Easter bunny I guess.  
  
**Tiff:** I hope this chapter cleared up a bunch of your questions.  
  
**Ramica:** Yes. Thirteen when she had Devon. Yes, mucho going on in the first chapters. Yes, Mikey was very responsible when it came to keeping Devon and taking care of him. I realize that was brought into question: why did she keep him? That will be answered soon.  
  
**Walking Contradiction:** Girl, before I start talking I have to say that I love you! First, if you tried to write like me, maybe it would not be so good but if I tried to write like you, it would be slop as well. AND YOU DO HAVE TALENT! It just shows our writing styles. (Although I am trying to break free of that writing style ahem) Yes, Leo is painfully adorable toward Mikey. I always did like that aspect and I am kind of mad at myself for jumping into the 'I love you' s again. But it has been two years and it has been long anticipated between them as well. You said you didn't like the flashbacks because they were depressing. Is that a matter of speaking or do you really not like them and want me to stop doing them? Ah! The caller, everyone wants to kill him you are definitely not the only one. Thanks again for all your wonderful support and compliments. I wouldn't be here today without you!  
  
**Rhonda:** Thank you, darling, I'm proud of me too. Lol, this post *was* long anticipated. I have wanted to do it for so long I was just never ready and I never wrote anything quite as good as this is turning out to be.  
  
**Anon:** I'm glad you like the story and your opinion DOES mean a lot to me. Thanks so much for the praise.  
  
**Aaron:** I can't believe you don't like it! Lol, just kidding, I know it's dark (didn't think I had it in me did ya? Okay okay, you did but still.. I love you keep reviewing)  
  
**Heather:** Thank you so much for checking out my stuff! I'm glad you liked it. I will definitely keep them coming. 


	5. Initiation

Chapter 5 of You Get Used To It Initiation  
  
Enjoy!  
  
"Alright, alright, we're running out of time. Don isn't going to be in the shower forever. How about we do this, we should each state why he should or should not become a Turtle," Mikey suggested.  
  
"Fair enough," they both agreed.  
  
"Raph, you know the situation the best, you go first."  
  
"Well, I think we should let him in. Even if we don't all trust him right now, he hasn't ever done anything to show that he's not trustworthy. We have been tracking him for years and he's never done anything to prove that he wouldn't stay with us. We've always known we were going to let him in, why not let him in a little early. He's a good person and he has nowhere to go. We're his only friends." Raph stated his case and looked at Leo to state his.  
  
"I say no, it's too soon and we can't afford it financially. He needs to earn this life. He can't just waltz in without proving himself. It will have come too easy for him and he will either take advantage of it or he will resent it," Leo crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "Not to mention it could blow up in our faces."  
  
"He's not like that!" Raph blurted out.  
  
"Raph, he was just giving his opinion. It's my turn, though. First, I will start working more. Second, I think that he needs us right now, his mom is dead and he has nowhere to go. If we show him kindness now, he will feel more prone to stay true to us than if we left him to fend for himself. If we did that, he would resent us. Plus both of you know if he goes out on the streets, the Foot Clan will find him instantly and we can't take the risk of someone with his potential becoming one of Shredder's men. Especially, one of Shredder's men that resent us," They were decided. All three of them knew that there was no argument better than that. Mikey, right then, was incredibly thankful for all the nights of conversation with Jacks when they would analyze people's actions and responses to other people's actions.  
  
"See, Mikey, that's why I love you. You keep me in check. I hate to tell you, though, you're not working anymore. We're going to find something else."  
  
She rolled her eyes in response, "Whatever."  
  
"Did I miss something?" Raph wondered aloud.  
  
"Sure did, Romeo here tried to seduce me," Mikey shot a look at Leo.  
  
Raph and Leo chuckled in unison but both stopped when Don walked out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and a pair of flannel pants.  
  
"Don," Leo began taking leadership, "You've heard us talk about the Turtles, right?"  
  
"Of course," Don nodded.  
  
"Well, okay, then. If you move in here, you would become a Turtle and we aren't sure-"Leo decided not to let him know he was in right away. He had to prove he wanted it and had to promise his loyalty.  
  
"Look, you guys, I will do anything. Just please don't make me live on the streets. Raph already told me you guys have to trust me; I'll keep your secrets. Who am I going to tell?" he pleaded with the group.  
  
"Don, this is more than just our secrets. We need to trust you with our *lives* we need to know you will fight to the end for any one of us and you need to know we would fight for you. We have to make sure that you will die keeping our secrets," This is where Mikey zoned out, thinking about her kidnapping. "We need to know that you can handle the pressure and the stress of this lifestyle. There is so much to it and most of it is gruesome. I take that back it is *all* gruesome. I want you to tell me that you'll stick with us. Tell me that you will accept it all and you will not ever turn your back on us. Not ever," He paused, "We need you to trust us just as much as we trust you."  
  
Don stood thinking for a long time, "Alright, I accept. I'm in."  
  
"One problem," Raph piped up.  
  
"What's that?" Don looked at him curiously.  
  
"You have to sleep on the floor," he pointed to the ground in front of him.  
  
Don chuckled, "I think I can handle that."  
  
"Good, now go get dressed we're taking you somewhere," a smirk hinted on Leo's features.  
  
"Where are we going?" Don questioned.  
  
"I hope you're not afraid of needles. If you're in for real, you get one of these," Leo lifted up his long sleeve shirt and on his inner left forearm was a tattoo of a green turtle shell with blue katanas forming an X behind the shell. Raph, then, turned around and showed the tattoo on the back of his right shoulder a green turtle shell with red sai forming the same X behind the turtle shell. Next, after realizing what was going on, Mikey smirked as she unzipped her pants and tugged them down in the front revealing her tattoo. On the front of her right hip was a green turtle shell with orange Nunchaku draped atop and dangling down on each side, hers slightly smaller than the other two. Mikey walked to her room, then, and returned with a sketch she had done of what Don's tattoo would look like.  
  
"You get to pick where it goes," she handed it to him. He gazed down at it, a green turtle shell with a purple Bo behind it at an angle.  
  
Don looked up at them excitedly, "This is so cool."  
  
"This is about the only cool part," Raph said ominously.  
  
"How did you already have it drawn out?" he questioned.  
  
"We knew we needed some else's help, you're the lucky winner. The tattoo has been set since before we met you."  
  
Don went back to the bathroom to change into his street clothes again. This was all happening so fast his head was spinning. He was one of them no longer an outsider. He finally belonged to something. He really did belong and they really did accept him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The four of them returned from the tattoo expedition hours later. The tattoo artist, who owed Raph a favor, did a phenomenal job on Don's tattoo located on his left bicep.  
  
Back in the apartment, each of them took a seat. Raph and Mikey sat on the couch while Leo and Don sat on cushions on the ground.  
  
"That," Leo told Don, "was part one of your initiation."  
  
"How many parts are there?" he questioned  
  
"Five," Mikey looked at him as she answered studying him. He was hiding something. Something about his past that, he did not want to say. She let it go.  
  
"Part one. Ask us any questions about the Turtles that you have," Raph crossed his arms, prepared for the questions to come.  
  
Wow, he thought, all the questions answered just like that. Now that he had the chance to have all of his questions answered, he had a hard time remembering what they were to begin with.  
  
"You can ask anything," Mikey coaxed.  
  
A number of questions flooded his mind when he looked at her but he had to hold them in for now. He decided which question he was going to ask first to get things started and call all other questions to his mind, "What *exactly* are the Turtles?"  
  
Each of them were taken aback but then came back to reality to answer his question. Leo had begun the turtles so he leaned forward to answer the questions, "*we* are the Turtles, the four of us. In more of a definition, our sole purpose is to take out the Foot Clan because they cause a lot of trouble in the area. We don't go after innocent people or cause nuisance in the area, so the cops mostly leave us alone."  
  
Don nodded; he would figure it out eventually. "What is the Foot Clan?"  
  
"The Foot Clan is a group of men who just like to cause problems. Jeez, they've been around since before I was even born. They are just the very definition of 'gang.' They just like to cause problems with innocent people- and with us," Raph paused and looked away, "one thing they like to do a lot is pick up women against their will, if you know what I mean."  
  
Don was sure that there was more to it but he didn't push it because he could tell it would be hard for any of them to get it out. "What do you guys mean when you say that you are doing 'business?"  
  
Mikey sighed, "It could mean one of two things. The first being when we are tipped off that a member of the Foot Clan will be somewhere and we go to make sure that no problems are caused. The second being, Shredder or his men requests our presence and we go meet with them. The second is the kind that we dread most. You will, too."  
  
"How did the Turtles get started?"  
  
Leo looked up at him and then away, "A woman close to me was raped and ended up having a baby. When I found out, I decided that I had to see the end of the Foot Clan." Leo thought about it, 'that's all that happens to the women close to me. *He* rapes them and they wind up pregnant.'  
  
"That's it," Don mumbled.  
  
"Well, part two, if we're going to fight together, you are going to need to know us and we're going to need to know you," Leo told Don.  
  
"I'll start," Mikey volunteered. "I am 15 years old born and raised in this very city. I had a very easy life with a loving family. Nothing all that risqué, my life was mediocre, actually. I grew up with one younger sister and five older brothers even though some were adults and out of the house before I could remember. I lived in the same house my whole life.  
  
"When I was about eight, a boy moved in down the street from living on the other side of town. We started hanging out and, well, we grew up. I fell in love with him and I would have followed him to the ends of the earth. As we all do, he had secrets I didn't know about, and I followed him one night to see where he always went. I ended up causing a lot of problems and I got myself beat up and by the end of the night I was a Turtle," Leo, Don recognized, was the boy she was in love with.  
  
"One night I snuck out to go to his house and on my way back a man grabbed me and took me somewhere," she looked around. Was she going to tell them *everything*? Yeah, I guess I should she thought. She looked Leo and Raph in the face, giving them an apologetic look for her secrets, tears in eye. Both of them were wondering what was going on when she continued, "Well, he would ask me questions about the Turtles and things like that and he told me that if I told him he wouldn't hurt me. I didn't give him any answers, I pretended like I didn't even know anyone named Raph or Leo and in turn, I got beat up. He broke my bones or punched my face when I didn't answer him. Eventually I was given the choice: I could answer his questions, or I could have sex with him. I told him I would have sex with him. That's why I couldn't do anything about it, I gave him permission." She looked at her hands and took a ragged breath as tears slid down her cheeks. It took every ounce of Leo's strength not to reach for the hands she focused on. He wanted to touch her and tell her he was sorry and that it was all right but he couldn't. Hesitantly, she continued, "It was my first time, and I didn't think he could hurt me that bad but, oh god, did he hurt me. He was so rough," she laugh brutally at her own innocence. "Eventually, he let me go," she spared them more painful details of her kidnapping, "and when I went home, I got kicked out of the house because my parents found out I was pregnant, and *their* kids don't get pregnant. I had no choice; I left and lived on the streets for a while until we ended up getting this apartment. I had the baby, Devon, two years ago and eventually I just adapted into the girl you know today," she smiled lightly and wiped her cheeks. "Ding. Next." The three boys in the room gawked at her, too awe struck at the information to continue. "Please, just someone go."  
  
Leo shook his head of the images in his mind. He would need to talk about this with her. Why had she never told him? Damn her for not telling him, "I'll go," he looked around to make sure he had everyone's attention. "I'm seventeen, same as Mikey, I had an easy life. I had both my parents who were together until I was eight and I had a little brother.  
  
"Everything changed a couple weeks after my eighth birthday when my brother was seven. My parents got a divorce. My dad wanted custody of his son and he won so he took me to the other side of town to live. That was when I found out my little brother wasn't really my little brother. He was my half brother; my mom was raped when I was an infant and got pregnant. I was so *angry* at the man who did that to my mom," he confessed. "I lived with my dad a while. When I was about ten my mom and little brother moved back in with us but nothing was ever the same. When I turned eleven, I started the Turtles, all by myself, trying to take out Shredder, trying to get my revenge.  
  
"I ended up falling in love with a girl who lived down the street from me and she ended up being sucked into the Turtles. I hated myself for letting that happen," he shook his head. "She was kidnapped when I was fifteen and I tried for days to find her. When I did, she was in horrible shape and I went off to search for revenge. The same man who raped my mom had just raped the girl I was in love with. I came back, she was pregnant, and my parents thought I did it to her so they kicked me out of the house. My parents couldn't have their son messing up the family name. I found her and begged her to move into the apartment with me. She did and she had the baby and I got the hang of being a father and that's what brings me up to today."  
  
Don looked Leo in the eye, "It was that Shredder guy wasn't it?" Leo nodded. "Your brother and Devon are half brothers," he stated and Leo nodded.  
  
"I'm sixteen," Raph began, "never had an easy life. My dad used to hit me all the time, I wasn't good enough not like my older brother and my mom didn't pay attention to me. My dad loved my older brother; never hit him once in his life. I was lucky enough that my older brother loved me, though. Whenever my dad would start to beat on me, my brother would tell him to stop; I think he was the only thing that kept me from being killed. God, I worshiped my brother.  
  
"When I was seven, my parents got divorced and I lived with my mom for a while and I found out that the man who I lived with my whole life wasn't really my father. When I lived with my mom, no one hit me but no one loved me either and I missed my brother. When I was, about nine my mom and Rick got back together and life was the same as before, my brother being the only thing keeping me from bad beatings and when he wasn't there I really got it.  
  
"When my brother was eleven he started, something called the Turtles and he wouldn't let me join until one night when he got beat up real bad and he knew he needed someone else to back him up. I was eleven at the time. Everything was the same-just taking care of the business and all-until my brother's girlfriend got pregnant. The same man who raped my mom raped her. I was going to have a new half brother. My brother was kicked out of the house and, since I had no one left to protect me, I followed him. I have just been dealing with business ever since. I'm afraid I'm going to turn into Rick, I hate getting close with people maybe I won't be able to control myself just that once. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want my brothers or my sister to deal with that kind of thing," he looked at Mikey across the couch, "You pretty much are my sister." She smiled and reached out and squeezed his hand.  
  
Don took his cue, "Well my birthday is," he checked his watch 2:30 AM, "today, so I am sixteen."  
  
Mikey smirked, "I knew that, presents in the morning."  
  
Devon looked shocked, but the look quickly passed. "Well, I'm kind of with Raph on this one. I didn't have an easy life. When I was little, my uncle lived with us and he was. God, he was the biggest son of a bitch I have ever met. Man, did I hate him. He moved in when I was five and he didn't move out until I was eleven. We had a little routine, he would tell me after dinner weather or not I should stay up late. If he said not to stay up, I would go to sleep and dread the next day, because maybe then he would tell me to stay awake. If he said I should stay up, I would have to take off all my clothes and wait," his voice cracked, "Waiting was the hardest part. I would have to wait on my bed until he came in my room. When he told me to stay up it would mean that he was horny and I was his toy. I would have to do what he would tell me. Most nights, he would just want to touch me or me to touch him. Sometimes, he would make me suck him until he was pleased," Don laughed bitterly. "When it got really bad, though, he would make me lay down on my stomach and," he couldn't get the rest out, although he was sure they knew what he meant. "I never told anyone about that.  
  
"When I was eleven my parents kicked him out and, even though he wasn't there anymore, the memories really stuck. I would wake up with nightmares that I had fallen asleep when he told me not to and he was hitting me or I would have nightmares about the nights that I hadn't forgotten to stay awake. It was hard everything was just a haze. Then this last summer my dad died and today-yesterday, I mean, my mom died," he shrugged, "and now I'm here. I feel like I'm not an outsider anymore. My whole life, I never fit in." Leo, Raph and Mikey were stunned. He had lived through far worse than all of them had. "I see it in your faces, don't say you're sorry, I'm fine," they nodded in unison.  
  
"Part four, you can ask us any questions about our personal lives," Leo stated.  
  
"I'm pretty sure about all this but just for clarification. You and Mikey lived down the street from each other and fell in love, Raph is your brother, and Shredder raped Mikey and your mother, correct?"  
  
"That is all accurate," Leo nodded.  
  
"Mikey, why did you keep Devon? I mean, you're so young," he redirected his attention to the young brunet.  
  
"I didn't have parental permission for an abortion, I was kicked out and I didn't want to do it illegally because that's really dangerous. My only option was to put him up for adoption. I had to have him at home; a friend of Leo's family came here and did it free because we couldn't afford to go to the hospital. Once I held him, saw him, and heard him cry, I couldn't let him go. I know it sounds dumb, but I was so attached and I loved him so much that I knew I had to make it work any way I could to keep him," her eyes got a far off look as she was obviously thinking about her son.  
  
"Where does he go during the day?" this time, Don looked at Leo.  
  
"He stays with a lady down the hall, Annabel. She's fifty and acts young for her age. She was never married and never had any children, but loves them just the same. She enjoys having Devon during the day and she doesn't ask for money for it. She's a great woman; she's helped us endlessly since we moved in. One day I would like to repay her."  
  
"Living in your world is like an art form," Don declared to no one in particular.  
  
"I agree, you get used to it," Raph shared his secret. "Part five, we give you advice. Our worldly knowledge is now yours, you could say. My advice for you is that you will get used to it. People are forced to adapt, once you start fighting on a regular basis you get used to it. Once you live in poverty for a while, you get used to it. When you have children young, you get used to it. Once you've been running from the truth and keeping secrets for a while, you get used to it," He looked directly at Don, "once your uncle touches you for a while, you get used to it. Once you get used to being a Turtle you can get used to anything," Raph shook his head wistfully. "No matter what, you can get used to anything." "Part five is an ongoing process, we're still sharing our knowledge with each other, each piece of advice will come at the appropriate time," Leo told him, "for now, lets just go to sleep."  
  
That night none of them got much sleep, past secrets kept undisclosed with such care had been stirred to life. Mikey tossed and turned on her mattress with her son curled up next to her while the boys slept in the living room. After everyone had finally gotten to sleep, Leo made his way into Mikey's bedroom to look down at her small body.  
  
Why didn't she tell me that she *chose* sex? He wondered. In a way, he knew it was because he would feel responsible. He gently touched her hair with his hand. She didn't deserve to live like this. "I am *going* to make life better for you no matter what," he whispered his promise as his hand slid down her cheek.  
  
"Leo, if only you would understand, you *are* my life. It doesn't get better," she murmured back. Hesitantly, he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. He knew it had been much too long since he had felt her lips on his. He wished her good night and went to sleep with the memory of her touch fresh in his mind.  
  
"Sweet dreams," she murmured. She had missed him, she knew that, but she wasn't aware until just then *how* much she had missed him.  
  
A/N: Hey, people. I'm going to camp tomorrow so I worked my little tail off to get this done for you guys. I think this chapter is okay, does that matter much? I hope all of you liked it. Please review!! Love ya'll! I know it's kinda weird that Don's uncle did that to him, and I know it's kinda sick. But it's reality. It happens.  
  
Muah, Krissy.  
  
************Reviewer Interaction: What has been your favorite chapter so far and why?***********  
  
My reviewers are the best:  
  
**Tiffany:** Book. Ha. Thanks for the confidence.. I love you a lot and if you review again you won't be a fool.  
  
**Aaron:** Hun? Okay, I'll let it slide. Why can you relate to Leo the most? Good work? If you say so. I love ya!  
  
**Heather:** Thanks for reviewing. As long as you keep reviewing I'll keep writing *winks*  
  
**Ramica:** Great chapter? Naw. Yes, Leo was holding back but now he is hesitantly, (bah. not hesitant, just aware) easing his way back into the relationship. Neither of them want to rush it.  
  
**Erin:** Thanks for reviewing! Was that enough info about Raph or would you like more? Your questions were definitely not stupid. They were helpful, in fact. Hope I answered them somewhat, more explanations to come.  
  
**Kelly the Magnificent:** Kelly, not only was chapter 4 depressing, the whole thing has been. I'm sorry about that fact. 


	6. Melt

Chapter 6 Melt (In Honor of Aaron)  
  
Of "You Get Used To It"  
  
Enjoy!  
  
(Author suggests listening to Rascal Flatts- Melt while reading the scene with Mikey and Leo. It enhances the mood. *winks at Aaron*)  
  
Leo walked to the bedroom when he heard faint knocking on the other side. When he pushed the door open, a very energetic Devon burst into the hallway, "Morning Daddy!"  
  
"Good morning, Devon," Leo leaned down to give his son a kiss. "What's your mom doing?"  
  
Devon shrugged, "She's sleeping."  
  
"Okay, go get Uncle Raph to get you breakfast." After hearing the word breakfast, Devon quickly scurried away to find his uncle.  
  
"Wake up," Leo whispered into Mikey's ear and then kissed her cheek.  
  
"Go away," she mumbled into her pillow.  
  
"No," he wrapped his arms around her. She tried to roll out of his grasp and buried her face into her pillow once again. "You can't hide from me," he tickled her and she slapped his hand in protest.  
  
"Mommy!" Devon walked back into the room with his arms up in the air. "Don is here," he made a sudden surprised face and quickly left the room again to inspect the newcomer. Both Mikey and Leo laughed a minute before Leo pulled Mikey out of bed and they followed him out of the room.  
  
"Morning, birthday boy," Mikey said to Don.  
  
"Morning, ha, you're not kidding. Your son is a maniac very early in the morning," he mumbled.  
  
Mikey laughed, "You're telling me." She held up her index finger before leaving the room. When she returned, she had a bag of presents in one hand and a cake in the other. She slid the cake in front of him and began to light the sixteen candles on top.  
  
"Go ahead, blow them out," she directed.  
  
"What? Aren't you going to sing?" he pleaded with them. "It's not really a birthday without the song."  
  
Each of them groaned in protest. "Stupid tradition," Raph mumbled before they all took part in singing a round of the happy birthday song.  
  
After he blew out his candles Raph asked him, "Are you satisfied now? I should take back your presents for making me sing."  
  
Don laughed and told them that they shouldn't have gotten him anything anyway. "Are you sure we can afford it?" he questioned.  
  
"You're fine, it's necessary," Mikey smiled and handed him a large soft bundle. When he removed the wrapping paper, he pulled out a black jacket. "It's a Kevlar jacket," she clarified, "its bullet proof."  
  
"Oh," he looked at it. Christ, he thought, he had to deal with bullets. He was beginning to realize what he was getting himself into. Next, Raph handed him a smaller rectangular package. When he opened it, he found a pair of sunglasses.  
  
"They're Gargoyle sunglasses," Raph pointed at them, "they can stop a .22." Don had no idea that there were such sunglasses made and it almost scared him that they were necessary.  
  
The last of the presents was from Leo, an even smaller rectangular box. When he opened it, he found a box with "Gerber Emerson Alliance" printed on it. He opened it to find a black pocketknife. "I can't use this," he whispered.  
  
"When your life depends on it, you sure as hell can," Raph said, "but let's not worry about that right now. Just know that you have it in case of an emergency. Please don't be afraid to use it."  
  
Don looked down at the knife as if it frightened him and it made a clanking noise as he dropped it onto the table. "Thank you," he mumbled as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He splashed cold water onto his face feeling exceptionally overwhelmed. Would he be able to do this and hold up his end of the Turtles? Could he really do what was required to pull his own weight? Could he kill someone? Maybe, if it was out of necessity, he thought. It's probably not something people think about in advance, though, he told himself. He looked into the mirror, into his own eyes. He could do this he deliberated. He is not a quitter he does not back down. After a good while of contemplating in the bathroom, he returned to the small dining room.  
  
"You left before we could give you your last present," Leo handed him a picture.  
  
Don looked down at the picture, "It's beautiful, but I don't understand." It was a snap shot of Leo and Mikey and Raph standing in front of a cottage on a lake.  
  
"We're taking you there, down in North Carolina, leaving tomorrow and taking the week off of school," Mikey looked over his arm at the picture. "We go every year to get away from everything. A friend of Leo's family owns it and they were always fond of Leo and me, so they let us use it whenever we want. Sometimes, we show up there when we're running. I had to hide there for a while after Devon was born because Shredder was looking for him," she trailed off with that memory.  
  
"Well that sounds like fun, thank you guys," Don looked at each of them genuinely.  
  
Each of them made a noise as if to dismiss the gratitude and Mikey began to cut the cake.  
  
"Here you go, Devon," Devon's eyes widened in delight as Mikey handed him a piece of cake on a plate with a fork. He quickly dug in and by the end of his desert, more cake had finished up on his face than in his mouth.  
  
"You are a mess," Leo looked at his son. "Tell mommy to get you cleaned up," he pointed at Mikey who feigned shock at the comment before lifting her son into her arms.  
  
"Tell your daddy he's lazy," she directed him.  
  
"Daddy lazy," he repeated and everyone laughed. He looked triumphant at that fact.  
  
Mikey took Devon into the bathroom and turned on the water before looking at him. "Shh," she held one finger to her mouth. He let out a shriek of delight and anticipation.  
  
"Beware of the King!" Devon screamed as her charged out of the bathroom chasing his mother. Devon and Mikey circled the room hitting rolls of toilet paper together as if they were swards and the two of them were fighting. Mikey was wearing a polka dotted shower cap on her head and had a blue towel fastened around her neck. Devon had a green towel around his neck and a clear shower cap holding in his dark hair in addition to two clear shower caps on his feet and a pair of goggles on his face. "Do not disobey the King," he screamed as she hit his shield, a newspaper from the bathroom slung over his forearm, with the toilet paper roll. They continued their fight until neither of them could continue in combat and she took him to the bathroom so that Devon could finally take a bath.  
  
"Oh, Leo," she looked over her shoulder at him as she was walking away, "there were no used toilet paper rolls so there is quite a toilet paper mess in the bathroom. You'll get that later, won't you, baby?" She gave him a teasing wink.  
  
"Oh, woman!" he threw a piece of crumbled up paper at her.  
  
"She's a great mother," Don affirmed when she had closed the bathroom door.  
  
"I know," Leo agreed, "she loves Devon more than life so she *wants* to play with him and since she's so young she still has plenty of energy to keep up with him. Obviously, she still has plenty of imagination to keep him occupied, as well. Anyways, he loves her, too, and he absolutely loves playing pretend with her. I don't pretend too well anymore but she's always been a dreamer, it's her escape from the real world," he sighed.  
  
"You love her, don't you," Don stated.  
  
"Yeah, I do," Leo smiled, "I sure do."  
  
"I wasn't sure I really believed you two loved each other until just now," he admitted.  
  
Leo looked at him curiously, "Why not?"  
  
"Well, I mean, you're so young," he stuttered.  
  
"We had to grow up fast," he said in a low voice, "Our bodies may be young but our minds have memories of occurrences even the most grown people will never experience." Don looked away at hearing this, unable to meet his newfound friend's eyes.  
  
The apartment sat in silence for a long while each person contemplating in silence. "Look, it's getting dark, I'm going to show Don around town to all of our usual areas and stuff," Raph broke the silence.  
  
He nodded, "Yeah, that's fine, just make sure he's safe."  
  
Raph nodded and slipped his knife into his shoe before they both left the apartment.  
  
"While you put him down, I'm going to take a shower," Leo walked into the bathroom and shut the door while Mikey carried a very sleepy Devon into the bedroom. She softly told him a story until he fell asleep. When Devon was finally asleep and she left the bedroom, she still heard the water running and got an idea.  
  
(It would be optimal to start the song now)  
  
She quickly set up candles around the room and put two glasses of water on the table. Next, she went into the kitchen to find his favorite food. She started to boil water on the stove to make him Macaroni and Cheese. Pitiful, she thought, she was trying to be romantic and all she could afford to give him was cheese on pasta. Pitiful. She did it anyway.  
  
Leo walked out of the bathroom to find the living room completely void of light. "Mikey," he whispered, "you there?" It's odd how darkness can give someone the sensation of needing to whisper.  
  
"Right here," she whispered. She was close; he could tell she was close enough to touch. He reached out his hand and felt it graze her stomach before she walked in the other direction. Each of them trembled at the contact. He swallowed and stayed in control of himself. A small flame came into his view when she lit a match to light one candle on the table, then another, and another on the shelf across the room. He watched her graceful smooth movements by flickering candlelight as she went from candle to candle lighting one after another. His body ached to be close to her, to hold her, to feel her body in his arms. She looked over her shoulder at him between candles and gave him an affectionate stare. He lost himself for a moment under her gaze; she looked so remarkable in the sparkling light. At that moment, even if he had wanted to he wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off her. She's beautiful, he thought.  
  
Mikey felt his arms firmly wrap around her from behind, slowly sliding across her middle as they did. She turned in his grasp and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're amazing," he told her.  
  
She shook her head and looked away, "No I'm not."  
  
"Yes," he moved into her range of vision, "you are." He kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled at the gesture, a small act of affection he had begun years prior.  
  
"I made you dinner," she pointed to the table and broke away from his grasp to sit down in front of one of the bowls. He watched her body as she walked, suddenly feeling empty and lonely. He walked over, sat down at the other bowl, and looked down at what he was eating.  
  
Leo smiled at the girl he loved and kissed her cheek. "It's perfect," he declared, "absolutely perfect."  
  
She gave him a self-conscious look, "are you sure you aren't disappointed?"  
  
"You have yet to disappoint me," he assured her.  
  
She smiled and took a bite of her food.  
  
"Mikey," he looked over at her when they were done with their food.  
  
She looked into his eyes, "Yes?"  
  
"Thank you," he sounded sincere.  
  
"It was just Macaroni and Cheese," she laughed.  
  
"Not about that," he corrected, "thank you for loving me, for taking me back, for taking care of me. You do so much for me, you don't even realize it."  
  
She smiled at him intently, "I love you."  
  
"I love you," he whispered and leaned close to her. She leaned in the rest of the way to meet his lips. He took her hand and led her to the living room. Pitiful, he though, he was trying to show her his love for her and the only place he could take her was the living room floor. Pitiful. He did it anyway. As long as they were together, only them, he was happy.  
  
Lying on the floor, he began to kiss her tenderly. Both of their body temperatures were quickly mounting as he lifted her shirt over her head and she removed his. He rolled her body under his, "Wait, stop," she cried. As quickly as he could, he pulled away.  
  
He searched her confused eyes, "What is it?"  
  
"I-I," she sat herself up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  
  
"Stupid," she told herself. "Here's your chance, he loves you and you love him. There is no better opportunity, Mikey. It won't be like before, it won't. He wouldn't do that to you, he wouldn't hurt you." She berated herself for thinking that being with Leo would compare to her memories of being with Shredder. She shuddered.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Raph led Don through an alleyway in the darkness. "Something you have to remember," he pointed into the darkness across the way. Don saw nothing. "Always be aware of *everything* around you, even when you feel safe." After a closer inspection, Don saw a person sitting in the darkness. Don studied the homeless man.  
  
"Watch out!" Raph screamed.  
  
In his distraction, Don carelessly turned around to see a blur of a person charging at him, and to feel the sting of a knife meeting his flesh.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mikey," Leo knocked on the bathroom door softly.  
  
She sniffled, "Yeah?"  
  
He cracked the door open and peaked in, "Can I come in?"  
  
"Sure," she allowed.  
  
He knelt down in front of her while she sat on the toilet seat. "I'm sorry," he whispered in a low remorseful tone.  
  
"No," she touched his sad face. "No, it wasn't you."  
  
He looked up at her, "You aren't mad?"  
  
"Of course not," she reassured him with a small kiss.  
  
"Well, look, I can tell that you're not ready and that you're scared, so I'm not going to push you past your limit. Sometimes, I just can't control it, I'm sorry," he looked down shamefully.  
  
"NO. Oh, honey, no," he lifted his head to look into her eyes, "I promise you it's nothing you did. I'm just so afraid, I keep remembering the way it was last time. It just feels like it could never be an act of love again, just brutality."  
  
"I would never hurt you like he did, Mikey. I promise you that," his gaze intensified. "Tell me you understand. Tell me you know I wouldn't do that to you," he demanded.  
  
She searched his eyes, his emotions. Isn't that what they said, the eyes are the gateway to the soul. She could tell he wouldn't hurt her. "I understand," she swore.  
  
"Good," he sighed. "Can I," he paused, unsure of how to say what he wanted to, "Can I hold you?" She nodded, a smile lightly hinting at her features.  
  
The two of them walked to the living room together and she lie down on the couch on top of him and fell fast asleep. He looked down at her intently and ran his fingers slowly through her hair. Mikey had barely been asleep for five minutes in Leo's arms when Raph charged into the apartment, "Mikey, wake up! It's Don, he's hurt."  
  
~!~!~!~!  
  
Hehe, sorry people, I'm in a big rush and typing this is painful. I realize what it is that makes me write such sad stories. It's because I have a deep understanding of angst. I have no knowledge of it whatsoever, but I have an understanding of it. I don't understand romance and happiness so much. I have knowledge of it, but I just don't understand it. That's why I'm so comfortable with writing torment and anguish.  
  
Reader interaction: Tell me, what would you like to see happen in the near future or distant future with this fic. What do you want to see happing? babies? Marriage? More fighting? Death? Hmm.  
  
I like this chapter. Do you?  
  
Review Responses:  
  
**Aaron** What do you mean you would go to any means for revenge? Hm.. lol, yes, I did use our game quote, Ding. Next. I thought you would like that. I'm sorry that you were horrified about what I wrote about don, but why were you so shocked about it? Yes, there is a lot of sadness in the group, I think it has come to be expected from me. You've just now started liking the relationship between Leo and Mikey? Geez.  
  
**Ramica** Yes, they all have very harsh backgrounds. Otherwise, the turtles would not have worked out. You know, if there was a parent following them close behind it would have fallen apart at the seams. Plus, generally speaking, a very sheltered person would not have the tolerance enough to deal with the lifestyle. Generally. Leo and Mikey's parents didn't know she was raped, and even if they had they wouldn't have believed it, but that's just life. Yes, Shredder raped Leo's mom and him and Raph really do want revenge. Badly. And lastly, yes, what happened to don is very real, and yes it does happen all too often.  
  
**Erin:** Yes, ma'am, many questions were answered, and I am glad you're happy. Yes, the chapter, though, was utterly distressing did work. At least in my mind. You're asking for more fighting, darling, and I *am* trying. Please be patient because it is hard to write something you have never experienced. Trying hard to get insight, promise.  
  
**Walking Contradiction:** (Chapter 4) Yes, the flashbacks are very disheartening yet very vital. I'm glad you don't really HATE them. Ah, yes, Jacks. You may be hearing a bit more about her. She and Mikey miss each other a lot. The love stuff is tactfully written? I thought it was excessively soon. Blah. Devon is VERY cute. Based directly off my nephew. Cute little bugger. (Chapter 5) I was glad, myself, that I thought of a good reason to accept don, trust me. So it was a double score. One point for me one point for you. I'm glad you liked this chapter so much, you are the best!! MUAH!  
  
**Kelly, the one, the only:** Thank you, I liked how I worked in the backgrounds, as well *wink.* I'm glad I shocked you so much with this chapter, it is always a goal of mine. lol. I thought the tattoos were ultra cool, too. Kelly IS the best!  
  
**Tiffany:** Lol, gosh girl, for the last time. Yes, Don's past was disturbing, that was the point. (lol, don't mean to sound harsh.) Raph and Leo being brothers has been a conscious secret from the very beginning, trust. Lol, love you baby doll cakes! Thanks for the review.  
  
**Heather:** Thank you so much! I would love to get many many novels published one day, but probably not this one. We shall see. Love ya!  
  
25 Reviews!! Weeeeee! Thanks to all of you who dropped a line and told me what you thought!  
  
Love, Krissy 


	7. Burning Sacrifices

Chapter 7 of You Get Used To It  
  
Burning Sacrifices  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Mikey stared out the kitchen window. She sighed when she saw heavy raindrops beginning fall to the ground. Her frustration was quickly mounting while she was waiting for Leo and Raph to return with an injured Don. Not wanting to wake Devon and not wanting to leave him alone she had sent both boys to carry their companion back so that she could tend to his wounds. She had no time to let her mind wander because from what Raph said, they would prove to be gruesome and she should prepare herself. She was shuffling around to find the supplies she needed. Mikey was very familiar with the process that would commence when the wounded male returned. She pulled open a drawer and pulled out pliers and an unused lighter. She cursed herself for not taking Leo's necklace before he left so that she could begin heating it; it proved to be a long process. When he had left, they had no time to think, though. It was so sudden and everything had happened so quickly. Instead, she pulled a towel out of the linen closet and dampened it in warm water. Lastly, she retrieved three painkillers and a glass of water. She positioned each of the supplies on the kitchen table and sat down in one of the chairs to wait.  
  
Raph and Leo stumbled into the apartment several long lasting minutes later struggling to move Don into the apartment. Mikey quickly went to them and helped them set him down. "Raph," she handed him a towel and ordered him instructions, "expose the cut and hold this against it hard. Do it quick and do not ease your grip." Raph nodded and Mikey took note of Don's pale flesh. He was loosing blood and he couldn't go much longer without falling unconscious. Luckily, though, he seemed to be well alert--a good sign. She touched his face gently. "Hold on, okay? I need you to hold on," he swallowed and nodded slightly to acknowledge her. Raph then applied pressure to his cuts and she could look at him no longer.  
  
Instead, she turned her attention to the other male in the room and tried to remain calm in the situation. If she lost her control, the entire group could become frightened and if she kept her cool and confidant air, she would help to keep them at ease. Everything was riding on her. "Alright, Leo, I need your necklace. Oh, give him that medicine on the table." Obediently, he removed his necklace and handed it over to her. She secured the cross charm of his necklace in the pliers and shook it to be sure she had a good grip. Next, she produced a flame with the lighter and held it to the cool metal. The three of the teens in the room who had already experienced the process waited impatiently for the metal to warm enough to do what it needed to. The newcomer, though, stared at the flame with wide, fearful eyes. The process brought a past experience back into Mikey's mind as she anxiously waited.  
  
*-* "Hey, Mikey, Where are you?" Leo returned from a trip to get supplies with Raph. He made a quick lap around the apartment and couldn't find her. 'Oh God Shredder!' Leo was quickly jumping to conclusions as he flung open the bedroom door to reveal Mikey kneeling on the floor head bowed and a knife in hand. At the sound of him, her head quickly snapped up to meet his face.  
  
"Shit, Mikey!" she jumped at the volume of his voice and cowered away. "Mikey, you listen to me! Let me see what you did!" he demanded.  
  
Mikey held out the insides of her forearms to Leo who sighed in frustration. He went to her and knelt in front of her. He was somewhat frustrated with Mikey's attempt at something he wouldn't admit. More, though, he was frustrated with himself. People would tell him 'it's not your fault' but what do you do when it is your fault? he questioned. They hadn't been living together long and Mikey was still trying to get a feel for the new life she was living, disbelieving of the sudden turn her life had taken. Before her kidnapping, she had been a girl clinging to her good life and happy youth. Now, she was flung into an adult world that wasn't yet ready for her bestowing her with the inability to cling to her childhood. He was hoping she could get used to it before it destroyed her, unfortunately, he had been wrong. Worse, though, she was struggling fruitlessly (Heehaw, Erin, I thought I would throw that in there) to get used to living with Leo now that she felt so deeply betrayed by him. "Oh god," his voice shook as he took in the deep scrape the knife had freshly formed into her appendages. Gently, he took her arms in his hands and pulled them closer to his face for inspection. "Oh, god," he repeated.  
  
"Why do you care, anyways?" she replied heatedly as she quickly pulled her arms away shifting moods as an inner switch went off inside of her. He shook his head, disbelieving what he just heard. She wouldn't honestly think he would stop caring, would she?  
  
"Mikey," he whispered, "I have to burn those shut." Her eyes widened in fear.  
  
"Please, no," she whispered.  
  
"Mikey, did you really expect to put those damn gashes in yourself and not expect them to be closed somehow? You have no choice. Besides that, did you honestly think I wouldn't try to do something about this?" he questioned her.  
  
"I thought I would be gone before you had a chance to do anything," she admitted.  
  
"Would you really wish that upon me? Would you really want me to find your lifeless body with the knowledge that there was absolutely nothing I could do for you," he searched deeply into her thoughts.  
  
"Well, no, I wouldn't want that," she admitted reluctantly.  
  
"Well, then, come on," he carried her into the other room so that he could seal her lesions. Needless to say, she never attempted anything like that again.-*-  
  
"Mikey, it's heated," Raph informed her, pulling her from her memory.  
  
"Yes," she licked her finger and touched the metal, "that it is." Mikey began to prepare Don for what was to come. "Don, I know this is going to hurt a lot but without it things will be worse. Do you understand?" He nodded to her and began to prepare himself as well.  
  
"Okay, Raph, on three move the towel," the boy did as instructed and on the count of three promptly removed the cloth. Quickly she located two side-by- side stab wounds on the outside of his abdomen and pressed the scorching cross to it as hard as her strength would allow. At the sensation of burning metal, Don groaned and turned away. "Don, have you ever been in a fight before?" she asked trying to distract him.  
  
He shook his head, "never."  
  
"I'm sorry that this was your first, but it could have been much worse. You have to learn somehow," she talked more to keep him alert than to make conversation. "So, how did this happen?"  
  
"I was distracted by trying to be aware of everything around me. The guy was on top of me before I knew what was going on. He got in a couple of good hits and, well, cuts before I could react. Then I started to take control, hitting him back. In the end, I lost," he slowly recapped the fight, unable to talk quickly.  
  
Mikey looked at Raph. "You didn't jump in?" she eyed him fiercely.  
  
"Mikey! You said yourself that he has to learn. He'll be fine; he'll bounce back," Raph calmly reasoned with her.  
  
She sighed frustrated. On one hand, she knew he had to learn but on the other was it worth this much blood shed for the sake of 'learning'?  
  
She remembered the last part of the healing process and decided to explain it now to take up time. "Alright, Don, I'm going to tell you something we didn't know about this back when I had to have my own cuts burned."  
  
"T-this happened to you?" he tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice stable.  
  
"Yeah, it did," she whispered. "All three of us have gone through it at least once. Anyways, though, it will take at least a couple weeks before it scabs over completely. When it does, you need to pull off the scab. After that, a new scab will form and you just need to let that one heal."  
  
"Wow," he mumbled simply.  
  
The conversation paused and Mikey waited impatiently, feeling that something was wrong. She shifted uncomfortably trying to decide on a plan of action and gently pulled the charm away from his flesh. She murmured a curse and then a prayer under her breath. The cross, at this point, was doing nothing to close the wounds. Mikey squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tentatively reached her hand forward. With the heel of her hand, she pushed the metal flat down onto Don's body, pushing it with all of her strength. She bit her lip in an attempt to stifle the scream of pain her body wanted to let out.  
  
"Mikey! What are you doing?" Raph shouted at her when he realized her hand was on top of the cross, sandwiching it between herself and Don.  
  
"It wasn't working," she choked out as evenly as she could. "It's almost done."  
  
After the burning was finished, she pulled her hand away from the metal and looked at it quietly, studying the burn as tears quietly sprang to her eyes. "Here, I'll clean everything up," Raph offered weakly as he cleaned up all of the materials they had used.  
  
Mikey leaned in and gave Don a teary kiss on the cheek and she lightly apologized before she mumbled good night to all of the boys. She walked into the bedroom and curled up in the warm blankets as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. "Mikey," Leo whispered through the dark.  
  
She rolled over, "what? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No," he pulled her hand out from under the covers. He smoothed burn cream onto her palm gently and she was pleased that he did. Her burn instantly began to improve. When all of the cream absorbed into her skin, he put her arm back under the covers and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Sweet dreams," he murmured onto her lips as he gave her a gentle kiss.  
  
"Good night," she replied and curled back into the warmth and security of her bed.  
  
~  
  
"Mikey," Don awkwardly poked Mikey in her sleep. "Wake up, woman."  
  
Mikey groaned her protest at the jabbing. "What do you want, Don?"  
  
"Get out of bed, we're leaving for the lake," he demanded.  
  
"Oh," she sighed and curled back up. "Where's Leo?" she questioned.  
  
"He went to put gas in the car and we're supposed to leave in an hour," he poked her again.  
  
She slapped his hand, "I get the picture, Mr. Demanding."  
  
He smirked at the nickname, "No, that's Leo, he's the one demanding that we leave."  
  
"Oh well," she threw off the covers. "Where's my son?" she looked around.  
  
"He's running laps around the apartment somewhere," he pointed outside the door. She sighed at this, even *she* didn't have that much energy. She looked at Don and suddenly realized he was moving around the apartment with ease. "Hey! You look like you're doing well," she commented.  
  
"Yeah," was his weak reply as he covered his burns with his hand. "It hurts a little but I can still move around and everything."  
  
"That's good," she commented.  
  
"Yep," he looked over his shoulder, "well, alright, I'm on babysitting duty. I better go tend to the little one."  
  
"Alright," she laughed, "I'll pack what I need and I will be right out." As soon as Don left, Mikey walked into the closet. She pulled out her school backpack, and filled it with tank tops, shorts and her bathing suit. She was relieved that she didn't need to pack anything else. The family that owned the cabin stocked it for them when they knew that she and Leo would be coming. They filled the cupboards with food, the refrigerator with drinks, and the bathroom with shampoo and towels. She smiled, they were like the parents she didn't have anymore. Devon even called them Grandma Mary and Grandpa Louis. Well, that isn't really how he pronounces their names but it is the intent. The thought of Devon reminded her and she pulled out another bag and filled it up with everything Devon would need for the next week while he stayed with Annabel.  
  
"All packed," she announced when she walked back into the living room where the boys were waiting for her.  
  
"Good," they all sighed in unison.  
  
"How's your hand?" Raph questioned.  
  
"Oh, it's fine," she looked down at her burn. She looked up startled when she saw it was bandaged. She hadn't even thought of that! "Oh my gosh! Don, I forgot to bandage your cuts."  
  
"Mikey, don't worry, it's done," he pointed at Leo.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered.  
  
"You're welcome," he said.  
  
"Alright, we will leave you two to say good bye to Devon," Raph picked up Leo's bag to carry it down to the car and Don followed suit and picked Mikey's up in his arms.  
  
"Devon, come here," Leo called and Devon quickly came running. Mikey picked him up in her arms and Leo followed behind with Devon's things.  
  
After the first knock Annabel quickly opened the door to shuffle them into the apartment, "I know you're in a hurry, kids, so I won't keep you."  
  
"Thank you, again, Miss Anna," she said using the name for her out of respect.  
  
"Oh, honey, it's no trouble. Thank you for letting him stay with me," she smiled her warm smile.  
  
Mikey turned her attention over to Devon, "Alright, baby, daddy and me are going away for a little while and you're going to stay here with Miss Anna. Won't that be fun?"  
  
Devon looked at Annabel out of the corner of his eyes. "No!" he said forcefully. Everyone in the room laughed and Mikey kissed Devon's face. "Mommy loves you. Be good for Miss Anna."  
  
"Love you," he replied.  
  
Leo took his son in his arms and gave him a quick kiss, "Don't give Annabel any trouble, big guy."  
  
"Okay," he said.  
  
"Bye, kid," Leo set him down on the ground and took Mikey's hand to lead her out of the apartment. "Thanks again," he called over his shoulder as they left.  
  
Everyone piled into the small car for the 6-hour drive. The car remained quite the entire way other than the quiet music coming from the radio speakers. They stopped once for food and once for gas and continued with their smooth almost uninterrupted trip. The trip in the car, Raph thought, was almost as important as the actual vacation because then he had time just to let his mind wander about anything. Anything but home, that is.  
  
"And this is our place of dwelling for the next week," Leo declared as he pulled into the driveway of the cottage. Each of them were satisfied to be able to get out of the car and stretch their legs.  
  
"I'll see you inside!" Mikey called over her shoulder and quickly sprinted up to the door leaving the guys to carry the bags. Each of them let out a noise at her and continued with the 'men work.' They would get revenge when it came time for the cooking and cleaning and the other 'women work' when she had to do it alone. Mikey pulled out the spare key and unlocked the door. She walked into the living room and turned on a light still laughing lightly because she didn't have to carry any suitcases. She was feeling quite pleased with herself until she raised her eyes to meet the figure sitting calmly in a rocking chair across the room. Mikey took in a deep breath and covered her mouth with her hand. Tears slid down her cheek as she muttered two words, "Oh Christ."  
  
!~!~!~!~!~!~!  
  
A/N: Sorry for the long delay, people. The next chapter will take even longer for me to post because school starts on the second. Sorry people! I hope you like the chapter but it's late so I must be off.  
  
Next chapter: Does Sex on the Beach do Mikey good or does it do her bad? Read to find out.  
  
***Reader interaction:*** who was it in the chair? Hmm (Kelly you BETTER not answer this one)  
  
My reviewers are the best:  
  
Kelly Rox My Sox: I love the cute Devon scenes, as well. They are probably my favorites to write, who knows. Yeah, I felt bad about spoiling Don's birthday. Oh well. Thanks for telling me that the almost-sex scene wasn't raunchy. I was trying not to be raunchy. I'm actually trying to avoid sex because I mean, first I know nothing about it and second of all my friends are reading this. They may never look at me the same again. Thanks for reading and reviewing.  
  
Aaron: Why are you clapping and calling this chapter brilliant? Aah! Okay Thanks for reading Aaron. You know you're the best there is.  
  
Tony: I WILL be famous one day! I swear! I can't believe you're discussing my writing with mike. Eep, embarrassing. Lol. Oh well. Thanks for your review and your support!  
  
Ramica: I'm trying to be tasteful with the Leo/mikey situation. And I'm trying to consider what I would do in the situation. I hope I'm doing a good job with that. Yes, poor don. I bed I'm scaring the poor boy. Aah. Fight scenes are hard for me to write, I don't know, I've never been in a fight. But I am getting coaching about the fighting from a friend of mine so hopefully it will start showing up more often. Marriage? Is that what you really want?  
  
Erin: Yes, I love Devon, as well. I don't want Leo and Mikey to be all mushy so that's good news for you. Love you, darling.  
  
Rhonda: I'm glad I am impressing someone with this story. Yippee. Mikey and Jacks? Reconciliation? Funny you mention that. Okay, Leo and Mikey don't sleep on the mattress together for two reasons. For one, how many teenage couples sleep in the same bed every night? Not many. Mikey and Leo want to be as normal as possible, although they do have a son. Hmm. And the second reason is that how fair is that? Just cause Leo gots the connections he gets the soft bed? Nuh uh! Lol. Published? Naw! This is just fun practice. Thanks for the praise, though.  
  
Heather: I'm glad you like the story so much. Lol I hate to admit it but there probably won't be a graphic sex scene because I wouldn't know how to even begin to write one, I know nothing about sex. I'm sorry. Naw, see, don isn't hurt too bad. Thanks baby doll!  
  
Walking Contradiction: My favorite reviewer. I'm glad that I reached the perfect balanced combination with this chapter. Whoo! Yes, I admit, Mikey is very thoughtful but she does doubt herself a great deal. She can't help it, it's just instinct from living the way she does. You think the Mikey Leo scenes are well written? Good, I was worried about that. Lol impressiveness? Yippee!!!! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. I know don and Raph are slightly neglected but it's hard for me to throw that in there. I think I'm gonna do a chapter focused on the 'men' heehaw. Well okay. Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked the chapter.  
  
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!  
  
Much love,  
  
Krissy Hughes. 


	8. Vacation: Day one Raph

Vacation: Day One- Raph  
  
Chapter 8 of You Get Used To It  
  
Enjoy!  
  
"You guys mind if I take off for a little while?" Raph asked of Don and Leo when they had finished carrying in the luggage.  
  
"Sure, man, see you in a little while," Leo handed over his keys to his friend.  
  
"Thanks, Leo, but you don't have to do that," Raph attempted to decline Leo's offer.  
  
"Just go, have fun," Leo pressed his keys into his younger brother's hand. In return, Raph simply gave a grateful nod and left the cabin. Once in the car he let out a sigh of relief and pulled the car onto the main road leading into town.  
  
Raph knew he loved his friends dearly; they were all he had and he never made it a secret that he would give his life for any or all of them—Leo, Mikey, or Don. He would protect any of them before himself. Sometimes, though, he just needed to get away and be by himself. The life he lived brought nothing but stress and isolation. At sixteen, Raph's entire existence was based primarily of risking his safety to protect the lives of others. He had been completely stripped of his childhood when he had barely begun adolescence. Although Raph would never admit it to anybody he felt like a mutant, completely abnormal and almost like he had a flashing sign attached to him blinking "different."  
  
That's the reason why this yearly vacation meant so much to Raph. It gave him an opportunity to be in an environment where nobody knew his face or his lifestyle. One week away as a normal human being gave him the strength to spend the rest of the year selflessly sacrificing for the security of others. In this small southern town, though, he felt something unusual for him. Freedom. He wanted to scream that word at anybody who would look in his direction. FREEDOM! It was an impossible emotion for him to tame and he felt like everyone else had somehow found the trick. Here, though, he could live completely free of the shackles keeping him from living normally. Here he was free from the worry for his life and the lives of the people close to him. This was the only place where he could completely blend in with a crowd and walk down the street anonymously with a feeling of complete safety. Here there was nobody around to ridicule him, nobody to harass him, and no one with any reason to attack him. Normally not only does he have to worry about the members of the Foot Clan but school is a complete nightmare, as well, where the only people he didn't have to alienate himself from were the Turtles, Casey, and April. If he didn't ostracize himself he could possibly be putting others in danger. But here, most of all, this is where he can find her.  
  
Raph pulled into a parking spot at the local mall and shut off the car. He was feeling completely humbled as he walked down the row of cars and into the building. He walked confidently through the hallways of the mall for the simple sake of strolling and studying the faces of the people going by. It wasn't his nature to draw attention to himself even if only by looking directly at other people but here he was unafraid. He had a feeling of being generally relieved and his curiosity was getting the best of him. These surroundings that he considered to be safe for him had a serious effect on his attitude; he felt deeply lost in this exact moment as if he were suspended in time completely content to stare at everything surrounding him. This feeling was ancient to him, though. He could not remember letting himself become so childishly curious in a very long time.  
  
Raph walked unnoticed into the major department store situated in the center of the mall and took the escalator up to the second floor and another escalator to the third. He smiled lightly to himself as he looked around at the furniture section. It was almost ghostly private and he liked that. Maybe this time, she would be here. 'Who are you trying to kid? Of course she won't be here,' his logic told himself. 'Yes she will. Hold onto that, she promised that one day she would come,' his heart retorted. He sighed.  
  
The department was set up in rows divided to look like rooms separated by artificial walls in between with bright paintings hung on them. Raph roamed around the area designated for living rooms looking for his couch.  
  
Finding the sofa he was looking for, Raph reclined and shut his eyes and wove back into memories from his past.  
  
- "Boy, you're completely ignorant. Wait till I get my hands on you," Raph who was sitting on his bed heard his father roar from the other room. He looked around quickly for some form of defense. Nothing, he realized, was here to save him. Leo was gone on a quick run for the turtles and his mom was out somewhere. Not that she would help him, anyways, but it would somehow have been comforting to have his mother. Not this time, though. This time there was nothing to stop his father.  
  
The feeling of hopelessness was not a new feeling for Raph, simply a feeling that he was newly finished with. Raph decided just then that he would wash his hands clean of the feeling of being doomed to the fate that Rick brought to him. He leapt off his bed and scurried across the room and hauled himself out his bedroom window and onto the front lawn. From there, he began to run. His legs took him as far away from his house as possible.  
  
There would be hell to pay when he returned for the stunt he had just pulled, but he didn't care. In his own way, Raph had just stood up the abuse he had received for his whole life. He was no longer timid and he no longer allowed himself to be taken advantage of. The day had been a victory for him.--  
  
"Excuse me, young man, but you may need to leave soon," a worker broke Raph of his thoughts.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, in a little while," he replied returning to his dream world.  
  
-In celebration for his newfound courage, he walked to the mall a few blocks from his house where he went to the food court and bought himself a small ice cream. After that he walked to the department store and to the furniture department where he sat down on his favorite couch.  
  
He sat down on the chair and finished his desert and then closed his eyes and thought about what he was going to do about. He sat quietly thinking of what was to come that night when, and if, he went home. He wasn't so sure he would. His dad would surely find a way to torture him for running away like that. To his father, running was a sign of Raph's weakness. Weakness is something that must be beaten out of him.  
  
Raph fell into a fitful sleep reclined on the couch until he was awakened. "Get up, Raph, I'm going to take you home now," he was roused by his older brother's large hands shaking him out of his dreams.  
  
"No, Leo, just leave me here," Raph groaned sleepily and tried to roll over.  
  
"Up, let's go," Leo insisted and pulled the young boy to his feet.  
  
"I can't go home, Leo, Dad is going to be furious with me," he whined.  
  
"He's gone to the bar for the night. You can sleep in my bed tonight and I will take the floor. Come on..." --  
  
"The world can't possibly be a happy place if a person like you looks so sad," Raph sat up quickly with a haunted look clouding his face.  
  
"I'm sorry, am I in the way?" he asked quickly.  
  
"No, of course you aren't. Raph, don't you remember me?" she pouted slightly, "I thought for sure that you remembered and you were here to see me."  
  
"Oh my god, Becca, it is you. I come every summer and I never find you. I thought for sure you would never come," he smiled broadly at her. She returned the smile and her large brown eyes turned upward in the corners as she did so and she crinkled her small nose which was sprinkled with light freckles. She reached up and grabbed the end of her long blonde hair and rubbed it between her fingers and her thumb, a habit that Raph recognized.  
  
Raph laughed softly at her tendency to rub her hair when she was nervous, "You still play with your hair?"  
  
She smiled even more nervously and shrugged, "I never gave it up. I guess I never saw a reason to." Becca sat down on the sofa next to Raph and put her feet gently in his lap. He picked one of them up slowly and looked at her. He began to massage her food when she nodded her approval. Years ago when they were very young they would come here together to this exact sofa and sit and talk while he massaged her feet. Becca's parents were the owners of the cottage they were staying at right now and they had agreed that they would meet there whenever they could and every year that Raph was in town he would go to the sofa and wait and think of her. He had given up hope that she would come. The last time she had they were only 12 and now that they were 16 they finally met again.  
  
"It's been too long since I've seen your pretty face, Becca, tell me what you've been doing and where you've been," Raph insisted.  
  
Becca blushed slightly, "Well I moved to Michigan when I was 13-"  
  
"You did! Why didn't you tell me?" Raph interrupted.  
  
"I haven't talked to you, I never had the opportunity," she said calmly, "I moved there so that I could go to a special school that goes year round so that I could graduate early. That's why I haven't made it here to see you, I was always in school. Anyways, we have two three hour classes each day and three day weekends. On Mondays and Wednesdays my morning class were non western society and traditions and my afternoon class was Arabic language. On Tuesdays and Thursdays my morning class was history of civilization and my afternoon class was philosophy. Each period began with lecture then debate and discussion. That was the same for my four grade levels and then I graduated last week. I'm supposed to leave in September to go to Middle Eastern countries to help educate young people there."  
  
"Oh, wow, Becca, that's amazing," Raph gasped.  
  
"Not one bit," she smiled and reached out to take his hand which she began to massage and he went on to massage her other foot. "What have you been doing?" she asked brightly.  
  
"I haven't been as good off as you, Becca. I'm so proud of you," he paused. "Well, Mikey got pregnant a year after I saw you last so she and Leo packed up their stuff and moved into an apartment. I followed, naturally, and we lived together and she had the baby. She ended up keeping him, Devon, and she was happy with the decision. Leo was pretty much a father to him even though he and Mikey weren't together again until about a week ago.  
  
"I got heavily involved with the Turtles because I had nothing else to focus on. I can't have any dreams or ambitions," Raph paused when Becca looked unsettled about that comment though she squeezed his hand and encouraged him to continue, "Anything can happen to me. All I can care about is now, not my future. All I have now is Mikey, Leo, Devon, and now Don. He's a new member of the Turtles. I stopped caring about school a long time ago, it's really pointless. People there are horrible and my grades don't mean anything because I have no future." It was strange for Raph to be able to talk to her so easily but it seemed like they had last seen each other only the day before; it was as if no time had gone by. They knew everything about each other's pasts and all of each other's experiences; they had always been able to talk about everything. Conversation was rushed, though, in fear that they would lose each other for another four years and they wanted to say all they could now.  
  
Becca sighed, "There has to be some way for all of you to stop this stupid fighting."  
  
"No Becca, didn't you catch that when I said that Leo was PRETTY MUCH a father to Devon? He's not the father, Shredder is. There's no way to stop it now. Not after two women, maybe more, not after all of our injuries and pain and dedication. We can't stop now because this is too much a part of our life and everything we are and the only aspiration we have. We've worked way too hard to stop now."  
  
Although she looked displeased with this Becca sighed and said, "I suppose it would be foolish to stop now. Maybe, when I come back, I could help you guys out. You know, join the turtles."  
  
"Dear God, no, I wouldn't let you try. The best you can do is stay as far away from the fighting as possible."  
  
She nodded. "Raph," she whispered.  
  
"Hmm," he mumbled quietly.  
  
"It is dangerous for me to be in the Middle East as an American. People are hostile and something could happen. But it is something I want to do and always have. So I came here today to tell you that in a few months my life could possibly be in danger and now hearing that yours is just as much in danger as mine I'm more positive than ever about why I came here. I want to see you as much as possible this summer before I go. I still care about you after all this time, there hasn't been anyone else, and I want to see what that can become before I go half way across the world and wonder. Or worse, something could happen to either of us at any time and we would never know what could have been. I think we have a chance and I want to try it," Becca had rehearsed that over and over again in her mind for the past four years and it was very much a relief to finally be able to get it out.  
  
Raph swallowed hard, this must be a dream. An hour ago he thought that no one could ever care and the one woman who was ever in his life just came back for him. This is what he had dreamed about every night since he had last seen her. He almost had himself convinced that this was another one of his dreams until Becca took in a ragged breath and sat up away from Raph, breaking all physical contact between them. "If you don't want to I understand," she looked down at the ends of her hair that were held in her left hand. "I waited forever to do this. I knew what week you were coming down and so I came and I intended to wait here every day to see if you had forgotten me. If you had, I knew it wasn't meant to be. I thought since you showed up on the first day that meant this was worth a shot. But, like I said, if that isn't what you want I would understand."  
  
Raph scooted closer to her, closing the gap she had just created, "Look at me Becca." She complied and raised her chin to be level with his and then slowly raised her brown eyes to look into his blue ones.  
  
"Becca, of course I want to. I've loved you for years now, and I've come here every chance I had hoping that one of these times you would be here looking for me, too. I hoped that I would be able to scoop you in my arms and say all the right words that would make you mine forever. You just said them first," he bowed his head and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. They both pulled away with relieved smiles on their faces.  
  
"Do you want to go back to the cottage with me?" he rose to his feet. "I think we're having a bonfire tonight it will be fun," he held out his hand to help her up off the sofa.  
  
"That would be wonderful," she smiled and slipped her hand into his as they left the mall and got into the car and drove the short way back to the cottage.  
  
Raph was standing at the counter when Becca came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his body and put her chin on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her and held up a note with the other for her to read. "From Leo," he said quietly.  
  
SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I HOPE YOU LIKED! REVIEW! 


	9. Vacation: Day one DonLeo

Vacation: Day one- Don/Leo  
  
Chapter 9 of You Get Used To It  
  
By: Krissy Hughes  
  
I'M BACK! grins  
  
Enjoy!  
  
"Well, man, everyone's gone," Leo looked over at Don, "and they will be for a while. This is routine. So how about we get out of here to go have some fun?"  
  
"Sounds fine with me, lets go," Don agreed. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Leo walked over to a closet near the rear of the house and pulled out a large duffle bag. "Come on," he grinned and scribbled a quick note to Raph and Mikey letting them know where the boys would be and inviting them to join.  
  
Don smiled back excitedly. It's nice to get away and have some fun sometimes, he decided. He was beginning to become fond of his new friends and instructors but getting to know them on a personal, and normal, basis would really bring them closer. Bonding experiences are important in this profession, thought Don.  
  
The boys walked on the path next to each other and followed it around to the baseball diamonds nearby. They got there and Leo pulled two baseball mitts and one baseball out of the bag he had been carrying. The sack also contained bats, bases, and enough extra mitts and balls for a good game of baseball.  
  
Both Don and Leo took a mitt and walked a good distance away from each other so they could lazily pass the ball back and forth as the sun shone down on their bodies, keeping them comfortably warm.  
  
"So where did Mikey and Raph go?" Don questioned hesitantly. They were close enough to each other that they could easily carry out a conversation while keeping the ball in swift motion.  
  
"It's not something we talk about much. If either of them knew that I knew where they went to they wouldn't be happy with me," he sighed quietly. "Mikey goes down to the docks and puts her toes in the water and cries. She comes back later of course looking refreshed and spends the week more excited than ever. I think her life moves so quickly and so much of it is bad that as soon as she gets a still moment to think about everything in her life all she can do is cry," he laughed bitterly, "and cry she does. I thought maybe this time she would be happier and I thought that she would stay here with me. But as you can tell she left again. I guess I shouldn't be hurt but, oh why am I bothering you with this?"  
  
"I don't mind," Don offered.  
  
Leo shook his head in return to the gesture, "Anyway, Raph goes into town and he goes to the mall. Then he just sits and waits for hours on the same couch in the furniture section of one of the stores they have there. The same damn couch every time. I have no idea why he's there. He just sits and looks around at all the people as if he's waiting for something. He studies the face of each person that goes by but it's as if he never finds in them what he's looking for. He always leaves so disappointed."  
  
"That's so sad," Don sighed and Leo nodded in agreement.  
  
There was a calm silence following as the ball continued its path from mitt to mitt. Each of them focused on the motion of the ball from Leo's hand to Don's mitt and then Don's hand to Leo's mitt in perfect rhythm.  
  
"You know, ever since I was little I had one dream. I wanted to play baseball. Even when I was a kid I was damn good at it. It was all I ever wanted to do with my life. I know deep down I had the talent and the determination to go somewhere with it. Play in high school, college, even pro; I could have done it all. Damn it, I gave it up, and what for? This! I gave up my dream for hunting down some insane man who completely ruined my life. Then I ruined my little brother's life so that he's left forever searching for that person he left behind who may never find him, because that's what he gave up. I was lucky enough that the one person who I would consider searching for followed me. Trust me, I love Mikey more than anything in the entire world, even baseball, but look what she gave up. I ruined her life too, and now she's left to cry utterly alone because she gave up her childhood the most precious thing a person is given," Leo berated himself out loud.  
  
"Leo, they followed you because they wanted to," Don scolded, "you tried to protect them from this life but they wanted it. They wanted to be involved to help protect you. I know for a fact that all of you, given the opportunity, would not change your decisions in life. Without the decisions that you have all made you wouldn't be so close, you and Mikey wouldn't have each other anymore and you wouldn't have Devon, and Raph would still be living in fear of your father. Live changes because that's what it's supposed to do." He paused for a second, "I gave up my dream of studying genetics and mutations in my own laboratory. It always fascinated me. I wanted my own lab somewhere so that I could make discoveries on how to stop genetic malfunctions and mutations. All I ever dreamed of for my future were those test tubes and experiments to come. You know what, Leo, hell yes I gave that up for three near strangers and not once have I regretted it. This is my life now; it's what I've been given. Without sacrifice one can never grow. It's not your fault that three other people have made decisions it's just something you're going to have to come to terms with. Without us you'd have nothing and without you we'd all be lost."  
  
They fell into another extended silence until Leo sheepishly sighed, "I'm sorry. I've always felt responsible for all of you. I felt I should be the caregiver of the group and that I was accountable for all of your pain. I guess you are all capable of making your own decisions, after all."  
  
"Your input is helpful in any decision we make, even though you can be stubborn as hell sometimes," Don chuckled.  
  
Raph laughed in return, "well, what can I say, I like me."  
  
"Hey boys!" they heard a female voice call excitedly from a distance.  
  
Both heads turned in the direction immediately and they were greeted with the vision of two girls jogging in their direction. The taller brunette ran and leapt into Leo's arms. "Hi, baby," she whispered. Leo smiled unrestrained at the greeting and put Mikey back on her feet. 'She wasn't crying today,' he thought, 'not anymore.'  
  
He then turned his attention to the slightly shorter blonde standing next to her. "Oh my god, is that you Jacks?"  
  
"Sure is," she smiled, "all grown up."  
  
"I'd say so," he agreed and pulled her into a hug. "I've missed you, squishy."  
  
"Likewise, shark bait," they both smiled at the childish nicknames.  
  
Raph patted Don on the back, "this is Don, the newbie."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Jacks smiled.  
  
"Of course," he agreed.  
  
"You know," Leo grinned, "We've got enough people now to play some pickle. You women can run, here are the lines," he drew imaginary boundaries by his feet and by Don's feet that the women had to cross to be considered "safe." Both acted as if they were offended to have their positions chosen for them but obediently took their place behind the "line" beside Leo. The game began with the girls sprinting back and forth as Leo and Don tried to tag them out.  
  
Both girls collapsed on the ground exhausted from the exercising they had been doing. Mikey sat up with her knees pulled up to her chest after she caught her breath. Leo stooped down in front of her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips and smiled. "Give me some fin," he held his hand prepared for a low-five which Mikey gave to him. "Noggin," she smiled as he held her head in his hands and lightly tapped their foreheads together. "Dude," they both said in unison and giggled.  
  
"I'm glad everyone waited for us to start the games," everyone turned to Raph at the mention of 'us.'  
  
'He found her,' Leo thought, 'finally she came back.'  
  
"Becca," Leo smiled, "It's good to see you again." He stood and hugged her and she hugged back.  
  
"Oh my gosh, Becca! It is you!" Mikey jumped up excitedly and hugged her.  
  
Leo gave his brother a pat on the back, "she's what you've been waiting for all this time, huh?"  
  
Raph nodded and smiled, "yes, definitely so."  
  
"Good, she's worth it," Leo turned away and began, in a louder voice, to introduce everyone who didn't already know each other.  
  
"...And I won't take no for an answer, Becca and Jacks, you'll be staying with us. We've got plenty of room," Leo concluded.  
  
This was the happiest of times for them. Everyone smiled and began small game of baseball where everyone played multiple positions due to their lack of players. Everything was finally content for them. Coming into the turtles everyone had to sacrifice a little something and now, years later in this secluded place and time, they had all circled back to retrieve what they had left behind. In a week they would all have to return to the present in their own broken home but hopefully they could bring back with them what they had recently rediscovered. That was the last thing on their mind right now, though. Right now, all that they were concerned with was making the best of this little gift of time that had been given to them.  
  
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	10. Lovely Little Moments

Lovely Little Moments

Chapter 10 of Teenage Mutants

Title Change I thought it fitting. When I do full revisions all chapters will be "Teenage Mutants."

Enjoy!

Everyone was gathered around a bonfire on the back patio eating chips and hamburgers and playing the question game.

"Becca if you could have any super power what would it be?" Jacks asked.

"I would be able to see any event in the past or future that I want to. Like, I would be in the moment as it is happening. That way I could hear the tone in which each person uses and see the movements of their body and know how much the event means to the person."

"That's interesting, why?" Raph asked.

"It's more for the past, I guess. I love history so much and I would love to have been there for example when Galileo was looking through his telescope and then I would be there as he wrote down his theories about the universe. I would be there when Martin Luther went to trial for writing his 95 Theses. I think that if I had that kind of power over the future it could be indisputably dangerous. But to have that knowledge of the past would be fascinating."

Raph smiled, "You're amazing." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"NO MUSH!" Mikey screamed. "That's disgusting."

"Oh please," Jacks replied, "like you and Leo never kiss."

"Oh but have you ever SEEN us kiss?" Mikey questioned.

"Well, actually-" Raph began to say but was interrupted by Leo.

"Well anyway, Don, if you could remember only one person for the rest of your life and you would have to forget every other person you've ever known who would you choose?"

Don sighed, "To give you an honest answer I would love to say that in theory I would remember all of you sitting here because for the first time in my life I have a sense of camaraderie and belonging. Now is the first time in my life I've been able to open up to people who I know are accepting and understand me. But since I can only pick one person it would be Raph-in theory. In reality I would have to say my uncle. After everything that my uncle put me through I gained a huge desire to succeed and a desire to live a happy and content life. Sometimes I feel that I wouldn't have learned such lessons if he had not been there to show me exactly how I didn't want to be and show me the pain that life can put you through."

"I'm sorry man," Leo said.

"No big deal," he said quietly.

"Jacks," he turned, "Describe your perfect man."

"Utterly imperfect," she replied. "It's funny that you ask that because at school we wrote something about this. I listed over 100 things about a man that I would like. Like he wouldn't be afraid to disagree with me because then we could always learn form each other about new ways to look at things and he would support me in every good decision I make while calling me out on bad ones. But at the end my final condition was that he could never have everything I was looking for because then he would be the perfect man. Which to me is a complete paradox because I want to every day learn something new about the person I love. I want to discover new things every day and how could you ever find new and exciting things about someone who is already the definition of "perfection." To me the ultimate perfection is a thousand quirks and mini imperfections that I can smile at a million times a day. With the person I love there will be a thousand lovely little moments of pure happiness that we can cherish forever."

"To lighten the mood a bit, Leo, what was your first kiss like?" Becca asked.

Leo chuckled at the question, "we bumped teeth." Everyone laughed at his answer and encouraged him to continue. "There's not much to say, we were under a street light and I went to kiss her and we bumped teeth. Well, braces."

"That's great. I can't believe you did that! Was that with Mikey?" Raph bellowed. Sarcastically, he was only a little drunk.

"In fact, yes, it was! But fine, Raph," Leo responded. "How far have you gone with a girl?"

Raph chuckled a little and Becca's cheeks flared red. "Nothing too serious, I made out with Becca in her bed right before I left for the last time. Naked." Everyone laughed at this secret and Becca attempted to hide her face. Raph looked over at Leo who was sitting back sipping on a mixed drink not even bordering buzzed.

"Alright, Leo, think of someone in your head but don't say it out loud," Raph paused and when Leo nodded he continued, "If someone told you that this person in your head was going to die but you could take their pace. No one would ever know about your sacrifice if you chose to do it and if you didn't they would never know you had such an opportunity. Would you die for them?"

"Absolutely," Leo responded without even considering the question.

Everyone stared at him and Raph questioned, "You would give up everything you have for this person? You would honestly give up all that you have worked all these years for and all the people that you love in a moment?"

"Without hesitation," Leo said indisputably.

Mikey leaned over and whispered, "Who were you thinking of?"

"Devon," Leo went on to continue the game but Mikey just stared at him smiling. She couldn't keep the small smile from lingering. It meant so much to her that Leo would so unwaveringly care for her son.

Their talking went on for hours into the night until they were all good and wasted and ready to head in to get some sleep.

"Baby, give me a kiss," Mikey threw herself onto Leo.

"You're drunk," Leo laughed and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and crawled into the bed that they would be sharing.

"Leo, my chicken and dumplings, play with my hair," she flopped her head onto his chest as he lay ready to fall asleep.

"It's three in the morning," he laughed, "get some sleep." But before he could say the words she was breathing deeply in her sleep with her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

-----------

The next morning Leo was up early as usual and was sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal watching TV.

"Good morning baby," Mikey walked into the kitchen and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Well good morning Princess," he laughed and kissed her hair. "You definitely have a hangover."

"I definitely do," she conceded.

"You know what you need?" he asked.

"No, what?" she responded.

In a moment Leo stooped and swung Mikey into his arms. She let her head fall onto his shoulder and he carried her into the bathroom.

He sat her down on the toilet and began to run water for a bath. He turned as the tub was filling and Mikey began to take off her shirt. "Chill out Speedy Gonzales!" he chastised her. Then, he walked over and pulled her shirt over her head and pulled off her pants and underwear. Leo then proceeded to take off his own clothing. They both stood shivering in the cold until the tub was full and Leo turned off the faucet.

Leo picked Mikey up in his arms again and lowered her gently into the water and then gently got into the bathtub with her. Mikey rolled her body on top of his and sighed gently, "this is nice."

"It sure is," he agreed rubbing her back slowly with the warm water.

"Was it true?" Mikey asked.

"Was what true?" he sighed in deep comfort from the warm water and proximity to her smooth skin.

"What you said last night about Devon?"

He opened his eyes and looked into hers. "Absolutely. I don't know what parent wouldn't give their life for their child. You would do the same for him would you not?"

"I would but you-" she began

"But nothing, he's my son and that's the end of it," Leo said sternly. "Mikey I would do the same for you. I would die for you. I would cut off my arm to be near you for just a few more moments. I love you so much."

Mikey smiled softly at that and kissed him.

"Come on," Leo said and raised Mikey and himself out of the water in the tub and pulled the drain.

"But we didn't even finish taking our bath," she complained.

"Shh, just wait," he silenced her.

They both wrapped towels around their naked bodies and tiptoed upstairs to their bedroom and locked the door behind them.

Leo lowered her warm body onto the bed and hovered above her. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly dripping water onto her face. "I want you to know that throughout everything, Mikey, I love you. I always have."

"I love you too," she whispered.

------

Hours later they were still lying naked next to each other, their bodies intertwined. Both of them were staring silently at each other with a small smile on their faces coupled with a slight blush.

"You're the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen," he whispered to her and trailed a finger down her stomach.

She smiled and nuzzled up to his bare chest, "No one could ever love you the way that I do."

"Damn right, woman," he conceded.

They both laughed and he stood to get them some clothes to put on. They walked down the stairs and greeted the grinning faces of their four friends.

"What are all of you smiling about?" Mikey questioned.

"This," Jacks and Raph displayed wadded up piles of Mikey and Leo's clothes.

"We found them in the bathroom," Don laughed.

Mikey and Leo both blushed and joined them at the table for breakfast.

Raph put a hand on Leo's back, "I'm happy for you, man."

Leo made a discrete motion toward Becca, "As am I for you."

"I guess things are working out for us aren't they?" Raph said as they both stared captivated by the women that they love.

Please review. Positive feedback makes me update faster…..


	11. A Special Birthday Present

A Special Birthday Present

Chapter 11 of Teenage Mutants

Enjoy!

"Close your eyes," Leo said to Mikey as he put one arm behind Mikey's back and one behind her knees and swept her off her feet.

She giggled and buried her face into his neck, "I promise. I won't look." He kissed her forehead and opened the door to the hotel suite he rented for the night.

It had been almost three years since the gang had taken the trip to the lake. They hadn't seen a trace of the Foot Clan since before they left. At first it had baffled him, but now Leo was finally starting to feel like he was a normal 20 year old man. All of them had graduated from high school and gotten jobs. Leo worked as a mechanic at a local shop, Raph got a job at a warehouse, and Don started worked managing the computer system at an accounting firm. With all of them working, they could afford a modest house and Mikey stayed home with Devon. It scared him to admit it, but he was happy with the way his life was going. Everything seemed so perfect. For the first time he was content and he felt safe. He felt as if he could finally put all of the Foot Clan and the fighting and the pain behind him. But a voice in the back of his mind kept telling him that something bad was going to happen. It always seemed that as soon as he was truly happy, the other foot would fall and his life would take an amazing turn for the worse.

"Happy 18th Birthday, Sweetie. Open your eyes," he said as he set her onto her feet.

As Mikey looked around the room tears immediately sprang into her eyes. There was a huge bed against the wall to their left that looked as comfortable as any bed she had ever seen. Across from the bed was a huge TV and DVD player. Then, in the corner was a Jacuzzi with candles lit all around it. The entire room was covered with red and white rose petals.

Mikey threw her arms around Leo's neck and whispered, "I love you so much. You're all I could ever ask for." As she pulled away from the embrace she looked into his eyes and saw his love and desire for her.

"I love you, too." He put his hand to the back of her neck and puller her lips to his. He kissed her tenderly then pulled away to kiss her cheek, her forehead, her eyelids, and then he moved down over her neck. He felt her smile as he trailed his tongue across her neck and moved down to her collar bones.

Both of them were breathing heavy as she pulled his shirt over his head and backed toward the bed. Grinning like a little boy, Leo unbuttoned Mikey's white collared shirt and pulled it away from her before letting it fall to the ground. They stepped on it as they continued on their slow walk to the bed. Moments later, her bra hit the ground near her shirt. His hand came to her breast and she let out a moan against his lips.

The walk to the bed seemed almost unbearably slow to Mikey but finally she felt the mattress brush against the back of her leg. She laid down on her back and Leo unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off of her. Laying in front of him completely naked she couldn't have felt more vulnerable and more comfortable all at the same time. With Leo she didn't know how to explain what she felt other than by saying that with him everything felt right somehow and she was truly happy. At that moment she had no inhibitions, no fears, no sadness, no obligations. All she had at that moment was the deep passion and love that she shared with Leo. She held nothing back, she opened her heart to him.

Leo took of his own pants and threw them in the heap with the rest of their clothes. He stretched over her and lowered his head to kiss her deeply. When he pulled away and looked down at her he could feel his own hands shaking with the sight of her beneath him completely naked. She was all he could ask for in a woman and he trusted her with everything. Looking down at her, he gave her all of himself. All of his sorrow, his rage, and his joy were wrapped up in her. She smiled at him and he thought his heart would swell over with the ecstasy of her smile. He kissed her again and with the length of him pressed up against her body he could feel her every curve. He let his hand slide between her legs as he kissed her neck. Her breath quickened to a quick gasp and she let out a moan. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest.

Mikey rolled Leo over onto his back and straddled him. She let her hands explore his taught muscles while she teasingly licked his lips and got unbearably close to a kiss before pulling away. Teasing him only quickened his breathing and sent his heart rate soaring. She moved to his neck and he put his hands on her back, pulling her close to his increasingly warm body. She moved to suck on his earlobes and when his hand found her breast she breathed heavily in his ear.

Her teasing was more than he could take; she could feel his body shaking as he put his hands on her hips. He gasped, "Please Mikey, I want you." Mikey kissed him softly on the lips before giving him what he wanted.

Leo decided that his life was perfect and he would do anything to keep it that way.

---

Becca walked out of the kitchen with a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs and set it on the table. She smiled at Don and Raph sitting at the table.

After Becca had returned from the Middle East, she and Raph had continued their relationship with even more certainty than before. It was obvious that they were soul mates. All he could do while she was gone was worry over her. He hoped that she was eating enough, that she was happy, that she was safe. He wanted to be able to make her feel safe, but from half a world away his promises in writing did little to protect her from harm. At least Becca knew what Raph was up against: the Foot Clan, but with Becca it was different. It was impossible to know where danger could be hiding and in what form. It drove him almost to the brink of madness with fear. Raph had counted the days to her return. Starting the day she left.

For the time they spent away from each other Becca stayed up countless nights worrying over Raph's safety as well. No matter how many times he swore to her in a letter that things were different, that they had money and that the Foot Clan was gone, she couldn't fight the fear that he was going hungry and being jumped in the streets. After spending so much time unable to protect the other from harm, when Becca got home they had trouble leaving each other. Most nights, Becca stayed with Raph as late as she could but had yet to move into the house with him. Both of them knew it was only a matter of time until she did. The result, though, was that both of them knew after being apart for so long, they could never live their lives that way. They were soul mates.

The door bell rang and Don shot to his feet. "Okay guys be nice, I like her." Both Becca and Raph smiled devious smiles as they crossed their hearts. Don could only shake his head and laugh.

When he opened the door his date, Lisa, walked in. She was almost as tall as Don with long dark hair and dark eyes. Raph and Becca exchanged glances and smiled both understanding what the other was trying to say. Lisa was beautiful in an exotic kind of way. By the way she was blushing it was obvious that she was very shy but not in the kind of way that kept her hidden all the time. She was a modest kind of shy.

She smiled at Don, "Hello, thank you for having me over."

He took her coat, "I'm just glad you could make it. Dinner's ready."

She smiled a beautiful smile and said hello to Becca and Raph. "Becca it looks great, thank you."

"No problem, honey, dig in," Becca smiled and started eating. "So how did you and Don meet?" she asked Lisa.

"Well he works on the computer system at the Daniel Accounting Firm and I am Mr. Daniel's secretary."

"Yeah and it's pretty hard to get any work done when she calls me over every ten minutes to bail her out of some new technological problem. It's amazing the way this woman can mess up a computer sometimes." He looked over at her and winked and she started laughing.

"I do it on purpose because I love the way he rubs up against me when he's trying to get it straightened out. It's so cute because he thinks he's being sneaky about it but he is so obvious."

All of them laughed at the exchange between Don and Lisa.

"So where did you grow up, Lisa?" Becca asked.

"I live about 20 miles west of here with my parents. They're great to me. My mom is a dentist and my dad is a police officer. I have two sisters who are already married and moved out."

Becca smiled, "Do you get along well?"

Lisa shrugged, "Yeah, better now than we did when we were young. You know, three teenage girls living in a house together can get difficult at times."

Becca chuckled at that, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So are you in school?" Raph asked her

"Actually, I'm in an 18 month program at Western to learn how to do ultrasounds and EKGs. I've got 6 months to go."

"Wow, do you like that?" Becca asked.

"I like anything better than typing up schedules and making appointments all day. Plus all that time I spend with Don can really wear me down." Everyone laughed at that.

For hours they sat at the table talking, even after all of them had finished eating. They laughed together and told each other stories of their lives. Lisa listened attentively to their stories, trying make sure she didn't miss a detail. Becca was surprised at how much she seemed interested in what each of them had to say.

-----

Mikey fought to open her eyes. It seemed as if she had been drugged as she fought the sleep away and willed the fog in her mind to clear. She tried to bring her hand to rub her face but something stopped her short. "Leo," she mumbled. He didn't answer. She felt someone touch her face and she sighed in comfort before letting the sleepiness take over her again.

-----

Raph and Leo walked the girls out to their cars at 3 in the morning. They waved as they watched the taillights disappear around a bend in the road. The two of them walked back into the couch and grabbed a beer and sat on the couch flipping channels on TV. "I really like her," Raph said to Don.

Don smiled lightly, "That means a lot to me, man. I really like her, too."

They stopped on the local news when a headline caught their attention. It was about a shooting and rape somewhere on the north side of town. It sounded a little too much like the Foot Clan for comfort. They sat unable to look away from the television as if it would reach out an touch them. The implications were frightening. Just the idea of the foot clan coming back made the hair on the back of Raph's neck stand on end and Don's stomach drop.

When the report ended Raph looked over and in a shaky voice said, "Hey man, tomorrow night, do you want to go scout out the north side with me? I'd rather just clear this up and maybe stop this all before it gets going again. I don't want to go back to the way things were."

"Yeah that sounds good . I completely agree that I don't want to go back, but I'm sure it's nothing. We'll figure it out tomorrow. It's probably some drunken teenager making trouble."

Raph's last thought before he fell asleep was the haunting idea that with as quiet as the Foot Clan had been, maybe they were neglecting to see the signs of their return, making themselves vulnerable to an attack. Their quiet had made the Turtles comfortable and cocky. If so, they were in for the fight of their lives. Raph sighed and dismissed the idea. If something was up, they would know about it. He was sure that he and don would go the next day to find that the crime had nothing to do with Foot Clan at all. Then he would be able to breathe a little easier.

---

At 6:00 AM Leo threw open the door to the house waking Don and Raph from their sleep on the couch.

"Guys, get up right now. There's something wrong, Mikey's gone."

Both of them rubbed their eyes trying to understand what he was saying. "What the fuck are you talking about man?" Raph said angrily.

"I'm talking about Mikey. I fell asleep with her last night right next to me in the hotel room. Then, I woke up this morning and she was gone. I can't find her anywhere and I have a very bad feeling." His voice wavered, "This feels way too much like the last time she disappeared."

"Alright, Leo, we'll figure this out. Don't get worked up until we know what's going on. We can all split up and try to find her."

"Do me a favor," Leo said quietly to his friends.

"Anything," Don said.

"You were with Becca and Lisa last night, right?"

"Yeah," they both said skeptically.

"Call them and be sure they're safe," Leo said quietly.

Raph and Don both felt their heart fall into their stomach at the thought. After three years of peace it seemed their world was about to crash down. It all became clear to them that this had been the Foot Clan's plan after all and because they had wanted so badly for it to be true, they had fallen for it.


	12. Unhappy Memories

Unhappy Memories

Chapter 12 of Teenage Mutants

Enjoy!

Mikey emerged from a deep fog of sleep. She could see a fuzzy figure moving above her but she couldn't clear her vision enough to see who it was. She tried to rub at her eyes and blink away the sleep, but something was preventing her. She couldn't seem to form the thoughts to see what it was. When the figure finally came into focus she closed her eyes and wished she could get rid of it. She opened her eyes again to see Shredder hovering over her with a big lopsided grin on his face. She looked down at her naked body and felt her wrists and ankles bound to the bed she was laying on.

Mikey shut her eyes and swallowed against the lump in her throat trying to think of what to do next. Shredder pressed the length of his naked body against her and whispered in her ear, "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, darlin', and I've missed you so much. I'm glad to see you still look good after having my son. You can't imagine all the nights I've stayed awake in bed just thinking of the next time I could take you."

She glared deep into his eyes, "You're filth, Shredder. Do what you want to me. It's nothing I haven't lived through in the past. Leo will find you. He'll make you pay."

He had a twinkle in his eyes as he smiled down at her. "Oh, darlin', you're in for the ride of your life." He laughed at his joke and stood up to pour himself a drink. "Want anything?"

"Not from you," she spat at him.

"Have it your way," he shrugged. "How about this, though. From here on out remember that you are the one tied up, and I'm the one that put you there. I think it would serve you well not to be so rude to me."

"Well you can't tie me up and expect me to be all sugar and sunshine, Shredder."

"Fair enough," he sighed as he returned to his place kneeling over her. "We'll do it my way then."

Mikey swallowed at the idea of doing anything his way when both of them were naked and she was bound to a bed.

Shredder leaned down to suck on Mikey's earlobe. She stiffened trying to figure out what he was doing. Last time he had raped her there had been no pleasure for either of them. It was almost businesslike. Last time his goal had been to degrade her, to humiliate her, and above all to give her pain. There was definitely no earlobe sucking involved.

He moved his mouth down over the sensitive areas on her neck where he began to suck gently. Her eyes shot open as she tried to make sense of his actions. Last time, there had been nothing gentle about it. This time, it was almost as if he was trying to please her.

He moved his mouth down to her breast and teased each of her nipples until they stood erect, begging for his attention. In spite of her efforts to remain calm, Mikey's heart was beating furiously in her chest. It was a dizzying mix of emotions to enjoy what he was doing to her and so badly wish it wasn't so. She wished he would beat her into a living pulp, she wished he would give her pain. She wished it would be like the last time. This time, though, was terrifyingly different. She let out a soft moan as his hand snaked its way between her legs to caress her most intimate places.

Before she knew what he was doing, he was inside of her and moving in and out of her with a gentle rhythm. His left hand continued caressing between her legs as he sucked at her neck and earlobes. Mikey felt overwhelmed with pleasure and shame. Her breath came in short gasps even as she fought furiously to slow it.

Tears stung Mikey's eyes as she looked up into Shredder's eyes. He looked down at her and smiled. "Puh-" she swallowed back a moan, "Please, Shredder. I'm begging you. Please stop. Hurt me. Hit me. But please don't make me like it." With her concentration broken she let out a long moan.

"I wouldn't trade this for anything," he grinned and quickened his pace, "I love having power over you, Mikey." Mikey could feel her body approaching climax no matter how hard she fought it.

In a mix of orgasm and tears and shame all she could bring herself to do was quietly whisper, "Shedder, I will hate you ever day of my entire life."

Leaning down to whisper in her ear he said, "I can only hope so. And I hope that every time he looks at you he hates me too. And I hope he can't get it out of his mind no matter how hard he tries. I hope every time he looks at you he sees me."

Shredder got up and walked across the room to open a door, leaving Mikey to close her eyes against what had happened and let the tears fall down her face.

The door opened and one of Shredder's thugs whispered something in his ear. Shredder responded by whispering back, "Keep her company." He added a wink to be sure the man understood his point.

---

Shredder walked out into the living room and smiled, "Leo! We've been expecting you."

Leo walked to Shredder threateningly, "You tell me what the hell you've done with her. Now!"

"With who?" A broad smile spread across Shredder's face when he noticed Leo clench his jaw and tighten his fist. "Oh, you mean Mikey. She's in my bed," he flipped his hand casually toward the bedroom.

"If you so much as touch her, I swear to god I will fucking kill you, Shredder! I mean it! I don't care if I go down with you, you're done."

"Don't be dramatic, Leo. You would never get me and besides, you've got my kid to raise."

Leo took a step back, contemplating stepping down at the thought of Devon. Then, he pictured Mikey alone with Shredder and took two steps forward. "I want to see her."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?"

Leo clenched his fist again and followed Shredder down a hallway to his bedroom. Leo swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and threw open the door. On the other side, he saw Mikey, her eyes clenched tightly shut, tied to a bed with one of Shredder's lapdogs moving on top of her. He looked over and smiled at Leo without even pausing. "Hey man, come back in 10 minutes. It's not your turn yet."

Leo bolted to the bed and pulled the man away and to the ground. He had his arm cocked, ready to hit him when another one Shredder's men jumped on him. Mikey finally opened her eyes to see Leo fighting two huge men, one being the one who only moments ago had been on top of her.

"Leo!" Mikey screamed, trying to reach for him.

"It's okay, Mikey, I promise I'll make them pay!" Mikey started crying harder at seeing Leo.

Leo spotted a knife on the bedside table and punched the guy nearest to him twice as hard as he could and went for it. With the knife in his hand, Leo felt at home. It was just him and the worn metal handle. All of the years of fighting and protecting the people he loved came back in a blink of the eye. In that instant, he knew it was foolish of him to think he could step away from this lifestyle and just be normal. He was born to be at the other end of sharp steel. It was what defined him.

In two fluid movements he stabbed both men through the chest, dropping both of them to the ground in a heavy heap.

He stood up breathing heavy, blood on his hands and tears in his eyes at seeing Mikey on the bed. He went to her and kissed her forehead, a tear dripping onto her face. Then he kissed her lips so tenderly, it made her heart ache. "I am so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry I didn't protect you," he whispered against her lips. He stood up quickly and cut the ropes binding her to the bed.

As soon as she was free she jumped into Leo's arms and buried her face into his neck and cried. The memories of being with Shredder still in her mind, she couldn't bring herself to face Leo. She felt ashamed and used. Her body shook with sobs and Leo stretched his strong arms around her as tightly as he could. "Leo, I love you. I'm so sorry" was all she could mutter.

"What? Sorry? What for?" he kissed her forehead and tried to comfort her shaking body.

"I hate to interrupt this beautiful reunion," Shredder spoke firmly from the doorway.

Looking up at the interruption, Leo gently set Mikey onto the bed and walked to Shredder. He stood tall in the face of his enemy, hiding his fear and letting his anger course through his veins. He clenched his jaw and said in a voice that made Mikey's breath stop, "Let's take this into the other room, Shredder." He was only inches from shredder's face, but Shredder stood just as erect and proud as Leo did.

A grin spread across Shredder's face, "Let's. I would love to."

"Leo," Mikey screamed as he left the room but through his rage he hardly heard it. Mikey put her face into the pillow and cried.

"Shredder, I swear to god you're done. finished."

"Calm down, man, I just want you to see something."

Shredder led Leo into a living room with a huge TV on the wall. Before Leo saw the picture he heard the moans of two people in the heat of passion and he wanted to vomit. He refused to let the image take his attention and turned his back to it. "What do you want, Shredder?"

The man gestured to the TV and reluctantly, Leo turned. As soon as he saw what was happening on the screen, he took a step back as if Shredder had punched him. Leo wanted to vomit at the sight of Shredder and Mikey in bed together, Mikey in the middle of an orgasm, moaning loudly and breathing heavy. Leo walked into the room where he left Mikey, grabbed her tightly by the arm and dragged her into the room with the TV.

"Leo, what's going on?" she cried. "Leo, you're hurting me," she tried to pull her arm away from his iron grip, but he wasn't about to let go.

Once in the living room, Leo held his arm out, "What the fuck is this Mikey?"

Mikey couldn't bring herself to look at the screen, recognizing the sounds of herself with Shredder from earlier that day. She wanted to be sick, she wanted to cry and put her arms around Leo and say she was so sorry, she wanted to just die. Instead, she hung her head and did nothing.

"Answer me, damn you!" He screamed and tightened his grip.

Mikey yelped and tried to pull away again. Leo threw Mikey to the ground and yelled down at her, "Don't ever come near me again."

Calmly, Leo turned and walked out of the house, leaving Mikey on the floor crying.

Shredder smiled. "C'mere darlin'," he picked her up off the floor. "You stay with me. Forget about him. I will take care of you."


End file.
